Nissanheavy

Nissanheavy refers to the segment of heavy commercial vehicles and engineering equipment historically produced by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. The division was established in the late 20th century to meet demand for medium‑to‑heavy trucks, buses and construction machinery in Japan and other Asian markets. In its early years, Nissanheavy supplied diesel‑powered workload vehicles such as refuse collection trucks, highway maintenance units and regional delivery vans.

During the 1990s and 2000s, Nissanheavy’s product line expanded to include the Nissan Diesel and Nissan Midaf machines, which were marketed under the brand name “Nissan Diesel” until the brand was phased out after Mitsubishi Fuso acquired a stake and the unit was integrated into Daimler Trucks. The division also produced the Nissan Heavy commercial chassis used as the foundation for other manufacturers’ buses and coaches, and the Nissan heavy‑duty GV14 cab‑over vehicle, which was popular with logistics operators.

In the late 2000s, Nissanheavy entered a partnership with the Caterpillar–Marathon conglomerate for the production of large‑capacity dump trucks and excavators, supplying these to mining and infrastructure projects in Australia and Southeast Asia. By the 2010s, the heavy‑vehicle segment was largely absorbed into Japan’s broader commercial‑transport ecosystem, with many models either rebranded or discontinued.

Today, the legacy of Nissanheavy lives on through the continued use of its chassis designs in the current fleet of Midsize and Heavy trucks marketed by Nissan Commercial Vehicles. The division’s influence is also evident in the engineering standards adopted by the global automotive industry for diesel‑powered commercial and industrial vehicles.