The Shyft Group signed a national distribution agreement with Model 1 Commercial Vehicles. For Model 1, the agreement expands its commercial product offering, which supports vehicle upfitting and second-stage manufacturing. The arrangement also gives The Shyft Group access points into new markets and a national distribution and upfit footprint.
“While selling this vehicle category is not new for Model 1, the collaboration with The Shyft Group expands offerings across the country and touches into new markets with local servicing and upfitting,” said TJ Matijevich, Model 1 vice president and GM. “Traditionally, the commercial supply chain for upfitted vehicles has created unnecessarily long wait times and complicated processes. Someone has to fix that, and Model 1, in collaboration with Shyft, is going first,” he said.
Read more: The Shyft Group joins Ford Pro Upfitter program
Model 1 will carry Shyft Group brands – DuraMag, Royal Truck Body and Magnum – and offer local upfit services nationwide. For customers, the distribution agreement creates a one-stop-shop option for fleets, municipalities, and work truck end users in services such as plumbing, heating, HVAC, landscaping, oil and gas, and general contracting.
Model 1’s access to chassis pool inventory and vehicle body stock also eliminates the traditional domino effect timing lag experienced by most in the commercial vehicle space.
“Model 1’s vast geographic footprint with 23 brick and mortar locations, combined with their ability to access chassis pools, makes for a really strong distributor partner,” said Matt Duffy, national sales director with The Shyft Group. “Through Model 1 dealerships, Shyft and Model 1 are giving fleet management companies and end users better visibility, control and speed that others cannot unlock on their own.”