As more and more vertical design has come to the truck market – think integrated powertrains – Navistar (IW500/108) has been embracing the concept of “open integration” in its vehicle designs. That means the option of Cummins engines. But it also means customers can choose Allison or Eaton transmissions, Dana or Meritor axles, Continental tires (standard) or some other brand.
Many OEMs also embrace this philosophy - give the customer what they want – but Navistar executives gathered in Las Vegas believe it is a winning formula that will once again have the International nameplate back atop the vocational market share ladder.
“We want to give the customer what the customer wants,” Bill Kozek, president-truck and parts, told Fleet Owner at the launch of the company’s newest models – the HX Series of vocational trucks.
According to Jeff Sass, senior vice president of North America truck sales and marketing, Navistar’s Class 8 severe duty market share is around 17%. “We want to get over 20%,” he told Fleet Owner. “It’s really close right now [between OEMs], it ebbs and flows, and we don’t want it to be that close.”
To increase its market share, not only is Navistar focused on building quality trucks, it’s focused on providing customers options through its open integration philosophy.
