Nissan completes expansion of Mississippi plant
March 26, 2010 in Uncategorized by fionaredman
Source: BusinessWeek (Original Article)
By MARIA BURNHAM
Nissan is betting millions of dollars and five years of research that the commercial van market in North America will finally let its Madison County auto manufacturing plant live up to its full production potential.
The company halted production of the Quest minivan this year, reassigned 600 workers from other areas of the plant and just completed an $118 million expansion and modification of the facility to accommodate the new vans, which should be in production by the fall. Test trials on the new vans could begin within weeks.
"We see a real opportunity to expand on business in the United States with commercial vans," said Dan Bednarzyk, Nissan vice president of manufacturing for Canton.
Based on early feedback from dealers, Nissan expects the commercial van will be well-received, Bednarzyk said.
The vans, which were introduced last month at the National Truck Equipment Association’s annual Work Truck Show in St. Louis, are new products for North America. Nissan produces commercial vehicles in other countries, but until now resisted entering the market here.
Pricing on the vehicles has not yet been announced.
Commercial vans are a relatively small market. Nissan says it makes up about 16 percent of its global sales.
The main buyers are companies like FedEx, which have fleets of such vans, and small businesses like landscapers or repair technicians.
Most industry watchers consider the segment is underserved — Nissan’s main competitors will be the Ford E-series, Chevrolet Express and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter — but it is also a tough market to crack, said James Hossack, vice president of the automotive research firm AutoPacific.
However, Nissan already has some strong commercial van products in Japan and Europe and this is a natural extension of that market, Hossack said.
Like the market for passenger cars, commercial vehicle cheap flight Mount Isa to Townsville sales have been hit hard by the …continue reading
