Nissan to create new segment with NV200

Nissan has taken another step towards becoming a major global provider of light CVs by releasing the first details of the production version of the NV200 van - previously only seen as a concept vehicle.

The production van will follow the recent trend of shunning conventional market segments with a 4.1m3 load volume that places it somewhere between the Ford Transit Connect and the Fiat Scudo and its PSA cousins.

A key element of the design brief was to create a high proportion of loadspace to exterior dimensions. This includes the ability to take the long side of a euro-pallet between the wheelarches.

Much of the NV200's background is in the UK, thanks to Nissan's London design office and its technical centre near Milton Keynes. The van is the first of 13 new models planned to be launched at the rate of around two per year, and will go on sale in Japan in the second quarter of 2009 with Europe following a few months later.

To support its light CV expansion, Nissan is enlarging its Pro-Shop network of dedicated van centres, currently at 570 outlets throughout Europe. There are 35 of these already in the UK, and this number is set to double by the middle of 2009.

Source : nissan