Nissan to Aid Daewoo on Vans, Trucks

Nissan Motor Co. announced Tuesday that, beginning next year, it will supply Daewoo Motor Co. of South Korea, a joint-venture firm in which General Motors owns a 50% equity share, with the technology to manufacture vans and advice on the production of 1-ton trucks.

Engines made by Isuzu of Japan, in which GM owns a 34.2% share, will be used in the new van. It will be modeled after Nissan’s Vanette, which can carry up to nine passengers, the company said.

Future exports of the van and the truck, which Daewoo will develop independently with advice from Nissan, were not ruled out. Daewoo, however, will be obliged to consult with Nissan before undertaking any exports, a Nissan spokesman said.

Through its involvement with Daewoo, Nissan will obtain what it called “a window on developments in the fast-growing South Korean automotive industry.” Daewoo, the only South Korean automotive firm that has had no ties to a Japanese car maker, will gain access to Japanese manufacturing technology.

17,000 Vans a Year

The two other major Korean auto firms, Hyundai and Kia, have ties with Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors and Mazda, respectively.

At first, annual production of vans is expected to be 17,000, with the figure rising to 30,000 a year by 1991, the announcement said. Although Daewoo made only 37,669 cars and 5,110 trucks and buses last year, the firm plans to start exporting 87,000 Opel-designed passenger cars to the United States in 1987 for sale in GM showrooms.

Hyundai, which put its first passenger cars on sale in the United States last Friday, plans to export 100,000 cars to the United States this year. All three of the South Korean firms plan to sell as many as 400,000 cars to the American market in 1987. No plans have been announced by any South Korean auto maker to export to Japan.

South Korean government policy now restricts each of the country’s auto makers to manufacturing specific types of motor vehicles. This restriction will be lifted next Jan. 1, permitting them to produce whatever models they wish. Daewoo has been forbidden to make either vans or 1-ton trucks.

The Nissan spokesman said the deal envisions no other tie-ups involving GM, either in South Korea or in any third countries.