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Nissan's Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) in Cranfield is to play a major role in the company's ambitious global van-development programme.

Having already assisted in the development of the company's NV200 small van, which is set to launch in Europe in the second half of next year, the centre will play a significant role in the development of a new van series, designed in particular for the European market, and is part of Nissan's plan to renew its global light CV line-up by 2012 with 13  all-new products.

A Nissan spokesperson says: "Cranfield is the ideal place to develop vehicles for Europe, due to its location and staff of European people. NTCE has used its position to gather European requirements and work with European suppliers. The difficulties of developing vans for Europe are particularly the complexity of the requirements of many markets, for both left- and right-hand-drive vehicles."

Nissan has also reiterated its intention to launch a hybrid version of its Cabstar by 2012, complete with stop/start technology, as seen earlier this year at the IAA Show in Hannover, while an all-electric van is also under consideration.