Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) will start supplying each other finished light-duty trucks for the Japanese market this January, the latest development in the strategic partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG. MFTBC is a unit of Daimler based in Kawasaki, Japan.
Nissan will supply MFTBC with the “Atlas F24” (payloads: 1.15 to 1.5 tons) under the model name “Canter Guts,” while MFTBC will supply Nissan the “Canter” light-duty truck (payloads: 2.0 to 4.0 tons) under the model name “NT450 Atlas.”
The agreement is expected to strengthen the foundation of both companies’ light-duty truck businesses in Japan by leveraging their collective knowledge and expertise. The reciprocal supply of vehicles will also help reduce their development and manufacturing costs thanks to economies of scale.
The strategic partnership between Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler strategic was formed in April 2010. The first concrete results of that partnership are visible on the road today - the Mercedes A-Class with a 1.5 dCI Renault engine and the Mercedes Citan, a small van built on the Renault Kangoo architecture at Renault’s Maubeuge plant in France.
Canter Guts Canter
Picture: Nissan NT450 Atlas
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