Spanish armada nips in
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THE FEARS OF JAPANESE lorries held by the British industry have been stoked up by Datsun UK's involvement in the import of the Spanish Ebro six and 7.5tonne range which has been quietly dropped into the market. BILL BROCK and ALAN MILLAR report.
Without any prior notice to the trade press, Ebro UK, based at Datsun UK's Worthing headquarters in West Sussex, started advertising its range of Perkinsengined commercials last week.
Ebro is built by Motor lberica, Spain's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, in which Nissan has a 54 per cent share. The company's plan to break into the British market was revealed in CM early in 1980.
For several years, the vehicles have been imported in small numbers by Dorking, Surreybased Johnson Brothers (Engineering), which has been equipping them for use as road sweepers, so the range is not entirely new to the UK.
Prices are very competitive at £7,120 for the 3.4m (1 ift 1in) wheelbase L60 and £8,403 for the 3.7m (12ft 1in) wheelbase L75. Both vehicles can be specified with either naturally aspirated or turbocharged Perkins 3.8 litre diesel engines.
Standard features include power steering, five-speed gearbox, dual passenger seat, and laminated windscreen.
A national network of 19 dealers has already been established, but an Ebro UK spokesman told CM: "A few more are yet to be appointed."
The first batch of vehicles was imported at the end of last month, and will not affect Datsun's import quota. The content is said to be mainly Spanish, with the Perkins engines having been manufactured under licence. The new model will not be at this year's Motor Show.
Spanish vehicles being sold in the EEC attract an 8.8 per cent import duty if their engines are rated at 2.5-litre diesel or above. On the other hand, Spain imposes a 31.6 per cent tax on vehicles with a two-ton unladen weight.
The Ebro move has taken the British motor industry by surprise, and its initial distress appears to be more connected with the Spanish, rather than the Japanese connection. A Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders spokesman said: "The vehicle industry in Britain wants free and fair trade, but this is another example of where UK exports are at a disadvantage when fighting tax barriers in Spain."
A Leyland Vehicles spokesman, taking a similar line, expressed surprise at the extent of Ebro's dealer network, but declined to comment in detail until more information about the amount of European content in the vehicle became available.