Nissan Motor Co. is entering the light commercial truck market in North American and will spend $118 million to expand its plant in Canton, Miss., to build vans and trucks, the company announced today.

The Nissan Technical Center North America in Farmington Hills will design the new vehicles, the company said.

"Most of the poeple there today are already working on these vehicles," said Andy Palmer, corporate vice president of Nissan's light commercial vehicle business.

Cummins Inc. will develop and supply the powertrains. ZF Friedrichshafen AG will develop and supply transmissions.

Joe Castelli, formerly commercial trucks director at Ford Motor Co. will lead the effort for Nissan. The company said three products will launch starting in 2010. Nissan sells light commercial vehicles, which typically are work vehicles that weigh less than eight tons, in other markets around the world, but doesn't currently sell them in North America. Nissan said there are 1.5 million annual commercial van and truck sales in the United States.

"We already have major operations in Japan, China and Europe and so it is natural that we are now ready to expand our business in North America," Palmer said. "Any vehicle we sell here will be a conquest."

General Motors Corp. and Ford are the market leaders in the commercial vehicle business in the U.S.