Nissan Diesel Motor Co. Ltd., the Japanese truck maker that is a subsidiary of Sweden’s AB Volvo, is being renamed “UD Trucks Corp.” The new moniker will become effective Feb. 1. Along with the corporate name change, the Nissan Diesel brand will become the UD Trucks marquee and a new logotype will be developed, according to AB Volvo.
Nissan Diesel was formed in 1935 under the name Nihon Diesel Industries, which was later changed to Nissan Diesel. The truck maker eventually began using “UD” – which originally stood for “Ultraflow Diesel”-- as a product brand. In more recent years, the company said UD stood for “Ultimate Dependability.”
The Japanese OEM currently commands roughly a quarter of its home country’s for heavy trucks and a big chunk of China’s heavy- truck market, via a joint-venture with China’s Dongfeng Motor Corp. (DND) formed back in 2003
AB Volvo, which is also the parent of Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks, originally acquired a 13% stake in Nissan Diesel from its then-parent company Nissan Motor for roughly US$195 million in 2006 That share was gradually expanded to 19%. Volvo then purchased the rest of the Japanese truck maker a year later for nearly U.S. $1.1 billion.
“Nissan Diesel holds a solid position in Japan and the rest of Asia where Volvo Group foresees substantial growth potential,” said AB Volvo CEO Leif Johansson at the time. “Volvo can benefit greatly from Nissan Diesel’s experience of medium-duty trucks and experience of medium-duty trucks and its expertise in, for example, hybrid technology.”
