Amid the news that Volkswagen Truck & Bus is acquiring a stake in Navistar and its divisions, including IC Bus, we heard some questions from around the industry on what the news means for the engine supplier relationship with Cummins, Inc.
School Transportation News reached out to Cummins for its own comment, even as Navistar CEO Troy Clarke reiterated his company’s relationship with Cummins while also confirming the likelihood that the Volkswagen commercial engines would eventually be introduced into the International and IC Bus product lines.
A Cummins spokesman said the relationship with Navistar and its brands, one that extends more than seven decades, will continue. He also referred to Cummins’ long-standing relationship with the Volkswagen commercial business. Here is the statement:
“For nearly 100 years we have been focused on innovation to benefit OEM and End Users. We are pleased with our loyal customer base and their continuous preference which has enable Cummins to be broadly available in all OEM chassis in North America and increasing participation abroad.Navistar has been an important Cummins customer for more than 70 years and we look forward to continuing our close collaboration in the future. We don’t expect any changes in our business with Navistar in the near-term. Navistar has emphasized the importance of the partnership with Cummins and highlighted that given the strong preference for Cummins engines and support network all new vehicle launches over the next 18 months will feature our products.Volkswagen has been a valued Engine Business customer for over 30 years. VW Commercial Vehicle division started by the hand of Cummins in South America. We are also engaged in successful joint ventures with its subsidiaries, like the fuel systems partnership between Scania and our Components business. In the near and medium term, we will continue to strengthen our partnership with VW across businesses and geographical regions.We remain very committed to delivering industry leading products to Navistar, VW and our other OEM customers that help them compete successfully in their markets. We are very excited about the new products that we are launching in North America on-highway markets in 2017 and continue to make investments in our service network to provide best in class support to OEMs and end customers.”
