Why Some GM-Built Transmissions Feature Allison Badges

GM first confirmed that it was selling Allison Transmission back in 2007, handing the historic company off to a pair of private equity firms, Carlyle Group and Onex Corp., for $5.6 billion. GM no longer owns the company, and its heavy-duty trucks don't use Allison-built transmissions anymore. Since the 2020 model year, the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD have used GM's own 10L1000 transmission. It might seem surprising, then, to see Allison Transmission badges still appearing on brand-new GM HD pickups.

At the end of 2025, it looked like those badges were going away for good. The automaker confirmed it would end its long-standing partnership with Allison when the current licensing deal ran out, and as a result, it would be removing Allison badging from any unsold trucks in 2026. Then, in February 2026, GM changed course, announcing that it had struck an agreement with Allison to keep its badges on the trucks. A GM spokesperson told The Drive that the deal "reinforce[s] to customers that Chevy and GMC HD Trucks are equipped with trusted, Allison-branded 10L1000 10-speed transmission[s]."

The key part of that statement is "Allison-branded." The automaker explained to GM Authority that it uses the Allison badge on HD trucks because Allison helped GM with "validation testing" during the development of the 10L1000, even though the transmission itself is built in-house by GM. As far as the automaker is concerned, the badge serves as verification that Allison approved the transmission design, and that is enough to justify its continued appearance on HD pickups.

Allison may no longer make the transmissions used in GM's HD pickups, but there are still some GM products that feature Allison-built transmissions. The automaker's medium-duty trucks, including the Silverado 4500 HD, 5500 HD, and 6500 HD, all still offer Allison transmissions. Even when the badging row erupted over GM's in-house transmissions in late 2025, Allison was always set to remain a supplier for the automaker's medium-duty trucks, primarily because GM didn't make anything suitable in-house.

By May 2026, there was another twist to the saga when GM announced that it would be discontinuing its medium-duty Silverado truck line. Production is set to end on September 30, 2026, with slow sales reportedly contributing to GM's decision to axe the line. The trucks have been built in partnership with International Motors at its plant in Springfield, Ohio. GM has reportedly decided not to renew the partnership when the current contract expires in September 2026. International has agreed to sell the Springfield plant to defense and commercial vehicle manufacturer Roshel.