Nissan Increases Commercial Truck Business in North America!

[Atomic]

Nissan Prepares to Sell Ambulances, Commercial Trucks in North America

By: James B. Treece

For: Automotive News, September 26, 2006

TOKYO -- Nissan Motor Co. already has pushed into the full-sized pickup market. Now it is preparing to challenge the Detroit 3's dominance of a related field.

It wants to sell light-commercial trucks, such as those used for ambulances.

Nissan assigned a team to study its entry into the United States more than a year ago.

The North American study team already is focusing on "extreme customer usage, such as ambulances and SWAT team vehicles," says Andy Palmer. He is Nissan's vice president in charge of the light-commercial vehicle business unit.

He hints broadly at Nissan's possible U.S. strategy in a section of Nissan's annual report.

The goal, he says, is "to see how we can innovate" with features "like super-efficient storage" or designs that allow "getting in and out of the vehicle quickly and smoothly with lots of equipment."

Customers in North America, he says, "have many unmet needs." That makes North America "a huge opportunity for us."

The push into North America is part of a major increase in Nissan's global light-commercial truck business during the company's current three-year business plan.

During the Nissan Value-Up plan, which ends March 31, 2008, Nissan targets a 40 percent sales increase for commercial trucks, to 434,000.

Nissan said last month that it expects to reach that goal this fiscal year, a year ahead of schedule.

Its sales of light-commercial trucks have grown steadily. In the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2006, Nissan sold 400,267, up from 182,000 in the fiscal year to March 31, 2003.

good move?

[Danish]

Yeah, it sounds like they have a good idea of what to do...

Any idea of what truck this would be based on? I assume its not one we have in the States?

[TBR]

Sounds like a chassis cab, heavy duty version of the next gen Titan, at least that would be my guess.