GARDENA, CA - Nissan North America announced that effective Feb. 1, 2006 it will form a new division called Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) and Fleet. The new division will be responsible for the sales and marketing of Nissan's future LCV products, in addition to current fleet sales. “These new products are a major part of Nissan's future profit and volume plans for the U.S.,” said Jed Connelly, senior vice president, sales and marketing for Nissan North America.

Heading up the new division will be Mike Hobson, director, LCV and Fleet. Hobson has been with Nissan since 1991 and has held a number of positions including C&I manager, truck model line manager, dealer operations manager in Sacramento, and various marketing positions at Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. (NMAC), including director, marketing. Hobson's most recent assignment has been to lay the groundwork for commercial vehicle lending at NMAC.

Hobson will report directly to Connelly.

Nissan North America's current fleet department will be incorporated into the new division. Reporting to Hobson will be Reed Johnson, senior manager of fleet sales. “As this area of the company will be rapidly expanding, a number of additional positions will be created beginning in FY06,” said Connelly.