Navistar no more; OEM rebrands to International Motors
NAPERVILLE, Illinois—As of Oct. 1, U.S. truck and bus maker Navistar will rebrand to International Motors. The move simplifies its structure in the commercial vehicle landscape, as it produces International Trucks, and better aligns with the structure of parent company Traton, which also owns MAN, Scania, and Volkswagen Truck & Bus.
IC Bus and FleetRite, the all-makes parts brand, will retain their names.
Customers will not be drastically impacted by the rebrand, which includes a new logo and website International.com, which replaces Navistar.com and InternationalTrucks.com. Future International grilles will receive a new badge, though retaining the classic diamond shape.
The all-makes diagnostic and vehicle health solution OnCommand Connection and International 360 service communications tool will merge as an app called My International. The My International name change is effective immediately and will evolve over the next several months, the company told media when they announced the rebrand.
The rebrand is also a way for the company to go back to its roots as International Harvester, which in 1910 was the fourth largest U.S. company, due to its 85% market share in agricultural equipment. Before that, the company was called McCormick, after its founder Cyrus McCormick, who revolutionized farming with the introduction of the grain-harvesting reaper in 1831. The Navistar name began in 1986.
“The return to International is an acknowledgement of our rich heritage as much as it is an investment in our promising future,” said Mathias Carlbaum, president and CEO. “The simplified brand structure, distinct visual identity, and clear strategy to more effectively engage with our customers ensure we can lay claim to another 200 years of success and signals a new phase of our company’s positioning.”
This change, which has been in the works since Traton acquired the company three years ago, also allows the OEM a chance to redefine its identity as more than a vehicle maker, but a solution provider for customers as they navigate the many changes in the transportation industry, including telematics, predictive analytics, and low- and zero-emissions powertrains. But unlike other technology-based companies, International will not shy away from its earthy beginnings and nearly two centuries of innovation.
“Throughout the 20th century, International Harvester brought significant innovation to this industry to make farmers more effective and efficient," explained Dan Kayser, executive vice president of commercial operations for International Motors. “Today, we lean on the heritage of the International brand to bring powerful, modern solutions to our customers in commercial transportation.”
In the past that may have been the DT 466 engine, but now is reflected in the S13 integrated powertrain, which enables far better efficiency and uses a dual-stage aftertreatment system to eliminate forced regens.
used on the over-the-road hauler LT Series, which Kayser reported “actually leads the industry by at least 5% in fuel economies,” according to internal and third-party testing.
The S13 is also now available on the vocational work trucks the HX and HV, the latter of which received a refresh itself.
International brought the media to the Navistar Proving Grounds (which will also need a name change) to test out the ultra-efficient powertrain on and off-road with these models, as well as the battery electric medium-duty MV Series.
Kayser also discussed the need to focus on a new Class 8 product, which the team is “keenly in the middle of doing right now.”
The push for more streamlinig overall refelcts the company's overall goal to simplify things for customers and dealers who have increasingly added on more data analytics tools to do their daily jobs.
"We've gone through this period now where we have customers that can measure to the third decimal place how well the trucks are performing with real data," Kayser said. "That really started us on this path that to look at the world differently, because the customers understand the value proposition of our product much deeper than they did before."
