GM announced it won’t renew its partnership with International to build Chevrolet Silverado 4500 HD, 5500 HD, and 6500 HD models, with production ending September 30, 2026. This decision eliminates a decade-long collaboration that brought medium-duty chassis cabs to commercial operators who needed something between light-duty pickups and full semi-trucks.
The partnership, inked in 2015, was supposed to give GM a foothold in the lucrative Class 4-6 commercial segment. Instead, it delivered declining sales and a business relationship that neither company wanted to continue.
Factory Sale Signals Permanent Exit
International sells historic Springfield plant to Canadian defense contractor, ending 65 years of truck production.
The writing was on the wall when International sold its Springfield, Ohio, facility to Roshel, a Canadian defense contractor, effective March 30, 2026. The 2-million-square-foot plant on 500 acres had been building trucks since 1961.
International’s own CV Series, which shared the platform with GM’s Silverados, will also cease production on September 10, 2026. When your manufacturing partner sells the factory and discontinues their own version of the product, the partnership is clearly over.
Sales Numbers Tell the Brutal Truth
Chevrolet sold just 1,273 medium-duty units in Q1 2026, down 37% from the previous year.
The market has spoken, and it wasn’t buying what Chevy was selling. According to automotive industry reports, Chevrolet sold only 1,273 Silverado MD units in the first quarter of 2026—a 37.4% drop from Q1 2025. These trucks never found their footing against established competitors.
Ford’s Super Duty F-650 and F-750 models moved 2,331 units in the same period, nearly doubling Chevy’s numbers. The Silverado MD offered solid specs: a Duramax 6.6L turbodiesel V8 pumping out 350 horsepower and 750 lb-ft of torque, with gross vehicle weight ratings from 14,001 to 23,500 pounds depending on the model.
What Fleet Operators Do Now
GM retains only its Isuzu-based Low Cab Forward series, ceding the larger chassis cab market to Ford.
If you’re running a commercial fleet, your options just narrowed considerably. GM will keep building its Isuzu-derived Low Cab Forward trucks for the 2027 model year, but those serve different applications than the discontinued Silverados.
Ford now dominates the medium-duty space virtually unopposed, while International’s MV Series offers some Class 6 overlap. Fleet managers planning vehicle replacements beyond 2026 should start exploring alternatives now—because once September rolls around, the Silverado MD becomes a parts-only proposition.
