FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler (DE:DAIGn) has struck a cooperation deal with Nissan Motor Co. (T:7201) on transporter vans, deepening a strategic alliance between the German and Japanese automakers.
Nissan will supply Daimler's Japanese commercial vehicles unit Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) with a transporter van to be sold under the Fuso brand in key export markets, the companies said on Friday.
Nissan's NV350 van will be marketed as a Fuso Canter van in markets in the Middle East, starting this year.
Renault (PA:RENA) and Nissan announced a cooperation deal in April 2010 to jointly develop a raft of products including a small city car which is marketed as a Renault Twingo and the Smart car, as well as some commercial vehicles.
Mitsubishi Fuso and Nissan already supply each other with platforms for light trucks. A vehicle platform forms the engineering foundation for the chassis and underbody of a car or truck.
(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Mark Potter)