Nissan and General Motors have signed an agreement to build a small cargo van based on the Nissan NV200. The small van, which will be called the Chevrolet City Express, will be available in the fall of 2014.
“Our fleet customers have asked us for an entry in the commercial small van segment, so this addition to the Chevrolet portfolio will strengthen our position with fleets and our commercial customers,” said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president of GM Fleet and Commercial Sales. Joe Castelli, Nissan vice president, commercial vehicles and fleet added, “Working with partners to expand markets for our innovative products enhances Nissan’s growth and manufacturing efficiency by leveraging our capacity to meet growing demand in this space.” – – Nissan Media/GM Media
Now, and I’m not being modest, I begged General Motors to join the fray and build a small van in this class a while back. You can read that story (here). I must admit, I was a bit puzzled that GM opted to use Nissan rather than bring their own small European van(s) to the USA.
The only photo they provided me was of a
Currently, the Nissan NV200 has a 131 hp four-cylinder engine that makes 139 lbs-feet of torque. This is a front-wheel drive van that uses a CVT.  Power may be down to the competition, but an estimated 21 mpg city and 27 mpg highway is mighty good. No word on power for the Chevrolet City Express, but it seems like it would be about the same.
I’ll keep you posted on this story folks!
Speaking of Nissan, check out this fun video of a Nissan GTR vs. a BMW M6!
