Nissan Adds Commercial Van with 2011 Nissan NV

Nissan North America has made quite a name for itself lately with enthusiast vehicles such as the Nissan Maxima, Nissan 370Z and Nissan GT-R, but now it is be looking to spread into a tougher and more lucrative market with a new line of commercial vehicles starting with the 2011 Nissan NV. Although truck-like in design, the Nissan NV (which stands for Nissan Van) is intended to take on full-size commercial vans such as the Ford E-Series, Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana. Nissan unveiled its all-new NV lineup at the 2010 National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) Work Truck Show in St. Louis, Mo.

Based off an all-new fully boxed frame, the 2011 Nissan NV will be available with two different roof heights (Standard Roof and High Roof) and three different model designations. Although Nissan didn’t specify the details distinguishing the different models, it will offer the NV1500, NV2500 HD and NV3500 HD. All three models will offer the Standard Roof, but only the HD models will be available in the High Roof design. Two engines will be available including a 4.0-liter V-6 shared with the Nissan Xterra and a 5.6-liter V-8 shared with the Nissan Titan; both will be paired to a five-speed automatic transmission. In the future, a diesel engine could be offered to better compete against the current domestic vans.

The importance of the NV lineup is obvious in the fact that Nissan put the Nissan Quest minivan on a temporary hiatus to free up production capacity for the NV at its North American in Canton, Miss. When the Nissan NV goes on sale this fall, it will be the first time a foreign automaker has designed, built and sell a commercial vehicle in the U.S. Nissan is hoping that the NV series of trucks will appeal to businesses and fleets with a focus on comfort and a modern design especially considering the fact that the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana have changed little since their introduction 1996 and the Ford E-Series (Econoline) hasn’t seen any major since 1992.

“As the first non-domestic nameplate to design, manufacture and sell CVs in the United States, we bring a more than seven-decade tradition of durability, quality and reliability to our products,” said Joe Castelli, vice president, Commercial Vehicles and Fleet, Nissan North America, Inc. “At the same time, we’ve taken a fresh look at every aspect of the CV business – including styling, powertrain, interiors, cost of operation and ownership, dealership sales and service operations and, most importantly, real world customer needs.”

Based largely off the styling of the 2008 Nissan NV2500 Concept, the production version looks more like something of a mix between a GMC Sierra pickup and a Dodge Sprinter. Unlike current full-size vans, the Nissan NV features a normal-length hood which helps make the engine easier to work on and the interior more spacious. The interior features a wide center console and large, comfortable seats including a fold flat front passenger seat. Nissan designed the NV to look and feel as much like a pickup truck as possible from the B-pillars forward but offer a spacious, versatile cargo area behind that.

Few details were released about the new model, but Nissan was quick to point out the dimensions of the cargo area. With only one wheelbase, the NV models offer a maximum cargo floor length of 120.7 inches and a maximum cargo floor width of 70.3 inches. Even at its narrowest area, between the wheel wells, the Nissan NV is wide enough to handle pallets or sheets of plywood or drywall. In terms of height, the Standard Roof NV offers decent space with 55.4 inches, but the High Roof NV provides a maximum height of 76.5 which should be tall enough for most people to stand up in.

An important part of commercial vehicles is being upfitter friendly, and Nissan designed the NV to be just that. From special roof rack mounting brackets that negate the need for drilling holes to available upfitter friendly wiring harnesses, it should be easy to for the Nissan NV to meet the requirements of any job. Designing the NV from the ground up allows Nissan to incorporate thoughtful cues into the NV such as dual inner walls to prevent exterior panels from being dented from the inside and even weld-nut attachments to better accommodate interior shelving and racks. The sidewalls were also specially designed to be almost vertical which not only maximizes cargo area but also makes designing and installing work-related interior accessories an easier task.

In the future, Nissan is planning to offer a smaller commercial vehicle that would compete against the Ford Transit Connect and other small work vehicles.