GM and Allison Transmission Ends Partnership After Failing to Reach License Extension

[testerdahl]

After decades of GM HD trucks using Allison Transmissions, the partnership is ending on December 31, 2025. This news comes at a shock to many GM truck fans who think highly of Allison Transmissions durability and bought Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD trucks because they were equipped with transmissions from that company. The move will mean GM dealerships will remove advertising for Allison Transmissions and new heavy-duty trucks will not have the Allison Transmission badging starting in the Spring of 2026. In a statement GM confirmed they ended the license aggreement and this marks the latest move for […] (read full article...)

 

[testerdahl]

I find it interesting how fast people jump to the "well duh, GM is building crap" discussion. Here's the thing. That's such a short-term view. These are long-term brand deals. So if you are Allison and GM has some warranty issues with a bad value body for a few months this summer, the Allison execs are not going to be concerned at all. Why should they?

Allison is looking at a multi-year, multi-billion dollar deal. GM is asking themselves if they need Allison's name anymore since 2018 they have been selling their own hardware on their transmissions, and excluding a few months, they have held up well.

Now imagine a customer going to a GM dealership and saying, "Holy cow, I can't believe you don't offer an Allison transmission anymore!" The dealership sales person is going to say, "Nah, we just don't pay for the license. We haven't had an Allison going back to 2017. Our transmissions overall have been pretty good with the exception for a few months in 2025 and GM fixed those issues."

GM saves billions in licenses. Allison is out.