TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Nissan Motor and Nissan Diesel Motor are teaming up with China's Dongfeng Motor Corp to develop midsize and heavy-duty trucks for the growing Chinese market, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said on Thursday.
The low-cost trucks, which will be produced at a factory operated by Nissan and Dongfeng in Hubei province and marketed under the Dongfeng brand, will hit the market as early as 2006, the paper said.
Nissan and Nissan Diesel officials were not immediately available for comment.
Nissan, Japan's third-biggest auto maker, was late to enter the rapidly growing Chinese auto market, especially compared with rivals such as Honda Motor Co , but is hoping to catch up through an extensive partnership with Dongfeng.
In one of the broadest ever alliances between Chinese and foreign automakers, Nissan aims to sell vehicles in all segments, from passenger cars to heavy-duty trucks, under both companies' brands.
Nissan and truck maker Nissan Diesel, which operate a joint venture that develops small pickup trucks, also plan to develop trucks specifically tailored to the Chinese market, the paper said.
Truck sales in China are believed to have topped one million units in 2002, making it at least four times the size of the shrinking Japanese market.
Separately, Nissan's medium-term business plan for its Chinese operations, to be announced Monday, will set sales targets of 330,000 commercial vehicles and 220,000 passenger vehicles by 2006, the paper said.