Global plans for Cat on-highway trucks

Caterpillar has announced plans to launch the on-highway trucks it has jointly developed with Navistar to markets outside North America. This follows the North American launch of the first truck from the joint venture, the CT 660 at the ConExpo show in March this year.

Navistar and Caterpillar originally set up a 50:50 joint venture called NC² to market their trucks outside North America, but under a new agreement this company will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navistar. It will market both the Caterpillar branded trucks and Navistar's own International brand.

In addition to making this change, Caterpillar and Navistar have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a cab-over-engine style truck for sale worldwide.

Phil Christman, president of NC² said, "This new relationship streamlines the organisation and will help us move faster and more efficiently. Customers and dealers in the global markets where NC² has established distribution will build on their early successes with no interruption and with the added benefit of getting products sooner."

NC² currently has a distribution footprint in Australia, Brazil and South Africa.