PARIS — Nissan is launching the Townstar, a small van based mostly on the Kangoo from alliance associate Renault, as a part of a rebranding of its light-commercial car choices.
The Townstar shall be obtainable with both a gasoline or full-electric drivetrain, however there shall be no possibility for diesel, which has dominated the industrial van marketplace for a long time.
The Townstar shall be constructed at Renault’s manufacturing unit in Maubeuge, northern France, as will a variant from Mercedes-Benz, the Citan. Just like the Kangoo and Citan, it will likely be obtainable in passenger and industrial variations. A launch date and worth weren’t introduced.
Nissan’s two different vans, the midsize NV300 and huge NV400, shall be renamed because the Primastar and Interstar respectively, the model stated in a information launch on Monday. The Primastar relies on the Renault Trafic, and the Interstar relies on the Renault Grasp.
Nissan is looking for to extend its share of the light-commercial car market with the rebranding and new Townstar, Emmanuelle Serazin, Nissan Europe’s company and industrial autos gross sales director, stated within the launch.
“We’re prioritizing our van portfolio and capitalising on the power and experience of the Alliance to assist obtain sustainable progress,” she stated.
The Townstar’s gasoline possibility shall be a 1.3-liter 4-cylinder engine (co-developed with Daimler) that produces 130 hp. The complete-electric model may have a 44-kilowatt-hour battery producing the equal of 122 hp. Nissan estimates that vary shall be 285 km (177 miles), pending homologation.
Nissan has added superior security and drive help options, together with a 360-degree digital camera view and, on electrical fashions, the model’s ProPilot system, which contains adaptive cruise management and lanekeeping in freeway driving. Automobiles with ProPilot can negotiate light curves and gradual to a cease with out enter from the driving force.
The inside options an 8-inch central contact display and a “floating” console that enables for extra storage areas beneath the gear shift.
The electrical model of the Townstar will succeed the e-NV200, one of many first, and hottest, full-electric supply vans in Europe. The e-NV200 has recorded about 42,000 gross sales since its introduction in 2014, in accordance with Nissan. It has lengthy been the preferred small electrical van in Europe, together with the Renault Kangoo ZE.
The Townstar, just like the Kangoo and Citan, is constructed on the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s CMF-C/D platform for compact and midsize autos. It will likely be distinguished by its entrance styling, which Nissan stated takes cues from the approaching Ariya full-electric compact SUV.
The Kangoo provides a wider alternative of drivetrains, together with two gasoline, three diesels, a full-hybrid (in 2023) and a full-electric mannequin. It’s going to additionally are available in two lengths.
Along with the Kangoo and Citan, the Townstar shall be competing in opposition to small van choices from Stellantis (the Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Companion), the Volkswagen Caddy (new this 12 months), the Toyota ProAce (a variant of the Stellantis small vans) and the Ford Transit Join.
The Kangoo ZE and Nissan e-NV200 have been the best-selling electrical vans in recent times, however Peugeot, Citroen and Toyota small vans at the moment are obtainable as EVs. The Caddy and Transit Join should not have EV choices, however VW Group is getting ready to launch a small electrical van to be shared with Ford that shall be based mostly on the ID Buzz idea.
JATO Dynamics, which tracks European registrations, classifies these small vans as “car-derived vans,” since they’re constructed on passenger-vehicle platforms.
In accordance with figures from JATO, the European best-seller in 2020 was the Berlingo, with 65,869 gross sales, adopted by the Companion (64,369), the Kangoo (52,459), the Caddy (49,138) and the Transit Join (37,389).
The European auto foyer ACEA reported that simply 2 % of all light-commercial autos bought within the EU in 2020 had been full-electric, with diesel at 92 % and fuel at 3.4 %. Complete electrical van gross sales of all sizes had been 28,597, a 28 % improve over 2019.
The largest electrical van markets had been France, with 9,209 gross sales, and Germany, with 8,830 gross sales. The UK recorded 5,266 gross sales in 2020, in accordance with ACEA.
Gross sales by mannequin are troublesome to trace, however Renault bought 4,735 full-electric Kangoos within the first half of 2021 in Europe, in accordance with the automaker. Renault bought 9,919 electrical Kangoos in Europe in 2020 and 10,111 in 2019.