P.M. BRIEFING : Ford, Nissan Cooperate on Van

Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln-Mercury division announced today that it will enter the minivan market in 1992. Production of the new Mercury Villager will be at a joint Ford and Nissan Motor Co. plant.

The Villager, whose nameplate has been used for a number of Mercury vehicles in the past, though mostly on mid-size station wagons, will be more compact than the Ford Aerostar minivan, said Lincoln-Mercury spokesman John Spelich.

“With the Mercury Villager, we’ll add incremental sales for Ford Motor Co. and for Lincoln-Mercury dealers,” Lincoln-Mercury General Manager Ross H. Roberts said.

He noted that sales of compact passenger vans have grown faster than sales of any other vehicle segment in recent years.

Spelich said the public will get its first look at the minivan at 1992 auto shows. The first minivan is expected to roll off the assembly line in April, 1992. The Villager will go on sale in the summer of 1992 as a 1993 model, Lincoln-Mercury said.