Nissan's Spanish steps
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• Japanese vehicle manufacturer Nissan looks like stepping up its attack on the European market with a new range of Spanish-built middleweight trucks which are expected to be launched at the Brussels Show next week.
The move follows reports that its plans to build commercial vehicles in the Republic of Ireland have hit problems. (CM 12-18 July 1990).
The rigid range will extend from 3.5 tonnes up to 13 ton nes GVW and features a revised version of the old Ebro truck cab produced by Motor Iberica, the Spanish truck maker owned by Nissan. The new models, however, will have Nissan engines, unlike the old Ebros which were powered by Perkins diesels, and will carry the Japanese manufacturer's name on the grille. They will be built at Motor Iberica's Barcelona plant.
The new Nissan chassis are expected to go on sale in Bel gium, France and the Netherlands with Nissan looking to sell about 200 units during 1991. However, Nissan UK says it will not be selling them in this country.
Few details are known about Nissan's plans beyond the fact that they will be supporting their medium truck with an updated version of the Nissanpowered Ebro Trade van, originally sold in Britain through Nissan UK but subsequently dropped in the face of more sophisticated competition.
Nissan UK also imported a small number of the Perkinspowered non-HGV Ebro chassis cabs and large 7.5-tonne intergral vans for a brief period from 1983 before abandoning the project.
0 Nissan is believed to have stalled over plans to build trucks in the Republic of Ireland, despite claims by a Japanese trading house and an Irish firm that they would begin producing 400 vehicles a year by Christmas. The joint venture was between Japanese group Marubeni and Scania distributor Westward Commercials. A full report on the Brussels show will appear in CM's 24-30 January issue.