The movies are filled with great trucking teams — from Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed in “Smokey and the Bandit” to Kris Kristofferson and an army of drivers in “Convoy.” Now transport finance can add Navistar International and GE Capital to the list of road warriors. In a new alliance, Warrenville, Ill.-based Navistar — a global manufacturer of commercial trucks, buses, and diesel engines — has chosen GE Capital as the preferred retail financing partner for trucks and school buses for its U.S. dealers. Navistar will now be able to free up critical capital to invest in what they do best — making and selling trucks and buses. GE Capital, in turn, will do what it does best — provide financing in an industry it understands, leveraging nearly 40 years of experience in the transportation financing space.
White line fever: The deal “will result in a significantly stronger ability to help finance the sale of Navistar products,” said Bill McMenamin, Vice President, CFO and Treasurer of Navistar Financial Corporation. Photo: Navistar.com
Dan Henson
As Dow Jones newswires explained in its story: “Navistar Financial’s traditional focus has been on small- and medium-size trucking companies that have limited credit options, even in a healthy economy.” The alliance, Dow Jones notes, “boosts the truck and engine-maker’s ability to extend credit to customers for truck purchases” – which also allows Navistar to better support its dealer network. It’s an important need, they explain, as “truck buyers have grown more reliant on vendor financing amid a prolonged slump across the freight industry and constrained bank lending.”
* Read Dow Jones’ coverage
* Read “GE to take on bulk of Navistar finance operations” from Reuters
* Read the announcement
* Learn more about Navistar
* Visit GE Capital’s website
* Learn more about GE Capital in these GE Reports stories
