Related: F-650/F-750 Switches to Ford-Built Engine, Transmission
Ford Ends Blue Diamond Venture With Navistar
Ford Motor Company is ending a joint venture with Navistar early next year to produce an in-house version of its F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucks for the 2016 model year.

The current generation of F-650 and F-750 trucks has been produced since 2004 by Blue Diamond Truck Co., which operates in the Navistar plant in General Escobedo, Mexico.
Photo: Ford
Ford Motor Company is ending a joint venture with Navistar early next year to produce an in-house version of its F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucks for the 2016 model year.
Ford plans to end the venture in early 2015 and move production of the trucks to Ohio.
"We expect to be able to better meet customer needs by designing and manufacturing the all-new F-650/F-750 in-house, in addition to using Ford designed and built engines and transmissions," said Michael Levine, a Ford spokesman.
The current generation of F-650 and F-750 trucks has been produced since 2004 by Blue Diamond Truck Co., which operates in the Navistar plant in General Escobedo, Mexico.
Navistar and Ford formed the venture in 2001. In December of 2011, Ford notified Navistar it would end of the partnership. The decision came as part of Ford's deal with the United Auto Workers to move production from Mexico to the U.S.
The 2016-MY trucks will be built in Avon Lake, Ohio, starting in mid-2015. Ford has also elected to end its partnership with Cummins and Allison Transmission by equipping the trucks with a pair of Ford-built engines and a Ford transmission. The trucks will be available with a gasoline V-10 or diesel-powered V-8.
Navistar has been well informed about Ford's decision to end Blue Diamond, the company's president and chief executive told investors during a conference call last week.
"That line in Mexico builds not only medium-duty trucks for Ford, but also builds medium-duty trucks for Navistar," Troy Clarke said on the call. "And so, we do have plans for how to use those assets going forward, and quite frankly it provides additional production capacity for us going forward as well. [It] gives us the opportunity to rationalize where we build certain products to reduce our logistics costs, as we — and so, we can ship from different — basically from different sites."
To beef up its own medium-duty offerings, Navistar will offer more engine and transmission options to customers of its International trucks. Navistar has reportedly struck a deal with Cummins to add a diesel engine option, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Originally posted on Automotive Fleet
More Operations

EV Fleet Reality, Ford Fathom, Robots, and Smarter Fleet Tech Lead the News
EV fleet lessons, Ford’s new Fathom electric truck, robots, manufacturing shifts, and smarter fleet technology headline this week’s Truck Chat Cheat Sheet.
Read More →
Elite 11 Semi-Finalists Announced for the 2026 Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Award
The 11 semi-finalists for the 2026 Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence award have been announced. The award honors the achievements of military veterans who have transitioned into careers in the professional trucking industry.
Read More →
Are You Saying These Work Truck Company Names Correctly?
Think you know how to pronounce the biggest names in work trucks? We asked the companies themselves to settle it once and for all.
Read More →
Why Reactive Fleet Management Is Becoming Too Expensive to Sustain
Research highlights a growing need for proactive management strategies to address rising costs in fleet operations effectively.
Read More →
Is Your Fleet Structure Built to Scale?
As fleets grow across regions, structural inconsistencies can increase costs, limit visibility, and create operational risk. This guide helps fleet and business leaders evaluate whether their current operating model can support growth without sacrificing control or performance.
Read More →
Fleet Management Guide for Growing Field Service Fleets
As HVAC, plumbing and contractor businesses grow, fleet complexity can begin to affect technician productivity, customer response times, operating costs, and revenue. This guide helps field service leaders build a more structured approach to managing vehicles, drivers, maintenance, safety, and lifecycle decisions.
Read More →
Fleet Forward Conference Registration Opens With Plenty on Tap for Work Truck Fleets
From commercial vehicle safety and AI to benchmarking, crash costs, OEM relationships, and autonomy, this year’s Fleet Forward Conference agenda has plenty aimed at the issues work truck fleets are dealing with now and preparing for next.
Read More →
Viatec Fleet Intelligence: Turning Fleet Data into Actionable Insights
Fleet managers don't need more data, they need better answers. Viatec's new Fleet Intelligence platform connects telematics, maintenance, fuel, finance, video, and other systems to deliver actionable insights through simple, natural language queries.
Read More →
Drones, Robots, DTNA Manufacturing Moves, and Smarter Fleet Tech Lead the News
Drones, robots, major manufacturing moves, and smarter connected fleet technology headline this week’s Truck Chat Cheat Sheet.
Read More →Motive Automations Explained: From Insight to Action
Motive Automations helps fleets turn real-time insights into immediate action. In this video, you will learn how automated workflows can notify drivers, alert maintenance teams, streamline coaching, and even use AI-powered Atlas calls to improve safety and efficiency.
Read More →

