As part of its cost-cutting, Nissan plans to retire from the commercial van market in the United States, according to unnamed insiders speaking to Automotive News. The plan involves ending the production of the NV cargo and passenger vans in Mississippi and the NV200 in Mexico.
"We don't want to go more in the business of vans in the US," once of the insiders told Automotive News. "We will exit."
The Rumor Was True:
There's no info yet about when exactly the production of the vans would end or how soon Nissan might actually remove them from the market.
Last year, Nissan's van sales grew. The company delivered 20,022 units of the NV200 – an 18.5-percent increase. It also moved 18,768 examples of the NV – up 0.8 percent. In comparison, Ford delivered 153,868 units of the Transit – up 11.7 percent – and 41,598 Transit Connects – up 30.3 percent.
The Automotive News Data Center indicates that Ford controls almost 50 percent of the commercial van market. Meanwhile, Nissan holds just 8 percent of the segment.
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Nissan's business overhaul aims to reduce the number of models in the global lineup to 55 models from the current 69. The Datsun brand is going away, too. To keep things fresh, the company is introducing 12 new vehicles in the next 18 months, including much-anticipated upgrades like the next-gen Frontier pickup and new Z car.
Get More Details About Nissan's Revised Business Plan:
The business also plans to re-work its Infiniti premium brand so that future models would share platforms and components with Nissans. This means the marque's current rear-wheel-drive cars are likely going away.
Source: Automotive News