, Columnist
Navistar's Road to Recovery
The German automaker's investment could help accelerate a turnaround.
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Volkswagen's $256 million investment is exactly what Navistar needed to put longstanding concerns about its financial viability to rest.
The Lisle, Illinois-based company has spent the last few years reeling from its failure to obtain compliance with the Environment Protection Agency for its diesel engines and has lost substantial market share in heavy trucks as a result. Its shares bottomed in January at $6.23 apiece, down 91 percent from their high in 2011. And as Navistar burned through cash, its 8.25 percent coupon bonds, which come due in 2021, fell to around 58 cents on the dollar.