Caterpillar Inc. and Navistar International Corp. will put up $66 million by Nov. 1 for a new truck-making venture and provide an additional $90 million over the next three years, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Dow Jones has reported.

The companies, which will be equal owners of NC2 Global LLC, have invested $18 million to the venture to this point. NC2 Global will design, manufacturer and sell commercial trucks for international markets. The companies also will have the option of sourcing construction dump trucks and other vocational vehicles from NC2 for Cat and International Truck dealers to sell in North America.

The operating agreement for NC2 will run for 25 years. Nearly all of the management posts have been filled (see More Industry News). The two companies expect to begin selling trucks in Australia by the end of the year.

The venture is expected to rely heavily on the two companies' engines, manufacturing facilties and dealers. For Caterpillar, NC2 provides an international outlet for the company's truck engines after Caterpillar decided to exit the North America highway truck engine market at the end of 2010. Navistar, whose truck and engine sales are largely limited to North America, is expected to grain greater access to overseas truck markets through NC2, which is likely to rely on Caterpillar's overseas dealer network for distribution.

Source: Diesel Progress Online insert