Cummins to supply diesel engines to Nissan

Nissan Motor Co. plans to break into the U.S. market for light commercial vehicles, and the move means more work for Cummins Inc. The Columbus company will make diesel engines for the three new offerings, Nissan said.

Nissan wouldn’t discuss specifics, but officials said the vehicles will range from pickup trucks to buses and that they’ll hit the market in the first half of 2010, according to the Associated Press. Nissan officials made the announcement at a Monday press conference in Detroit.

Nissan will spend $118 million to expand a Canton, Miss., production plant to build the vehicles, and German-based ZF Friedrichshafen will make the transmissions.