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Nissan Europe, which has closed its Barcelona LCV plant and some time ago exited an LCV JV with GM’s Opel/Vauxhall, has announced plans for its next generation of small vans for customers in Europe – rebadged Renaults.
“Leveraging further the strength and scale of the Alliance, Nissan’s future range of small vans will be manufactured in Maubeuge, France, the Alliance’s small van centre of excellence,” the automaker said in a statement.
Nameplates and detailed product information will be released closer to launch but Nissan said the new range would include all-electric and internal combustion engine options, as well as commercial and passenger vehicle variants, with various size combinations.
Chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said: “This future van announcement is more evidence of the strong momentum building for Nissan in Europe as we continue to advance our NEXT business transformation plan.
“Manufacturing our future products together with our Alliance partner brings competitive advantages for both companies and is another example of our win-win strategy.
“While it is too early to give any detailed product information, our customers can be sure they will have a strong Nissan identity and continue our mission of making the all electric driving experience a viable option for everyone.”
Like the current Nissan NV250 van, which has been manufactured at Renault’s Maubeuge plant since 2019, the next generation model will be built on an Alliance platform alongside the next Renault Kangoo.
The allocation of the next-generation of Nissan small vans to Maubeuge means that future Nissan vans for Europe will be manufactured in France.
“The next-generation all-electric van will continue the success of the e-NV200 which was the first all-electric commercial vehicle for the mass market when it launched in 2014,” Nissan said.
As well as French made, Renault based vans, Nissan Europe has also made its own NV200 line in Barcelona and shared a UK-built, Renault Trafic-based model with the French brand and the former GM Europe’s Opel and Vauxhall marques. The UK plant, now owned by PSA, builds French designed vans for the various PSA brands including Vauxhall and Opel.
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