LDV rebrands and looks for light van partner

GAZ, the Russian automaker that bought LDV two years ago, will rebrand the company Maxus “in the near future”, according to marketing director Guy Jones.

And the company’s Stand at Hanover gave a clear indication of the company’s new black and orange corporate identity, which is already being applied to new European dealers and will be rolled out across the entire network from next year. “The UK dealer council is supporting the change to Maxus,” said Jones. LDV currently has 72 sales dealers and 123 aftersales outlets in the UK.

The Maxus brand currently applies to LDV’s product range, so the rebranding would be “similar to Mini”, Jones added, where the brand and model range are one and the same. But clearer model-specific branding is likely to be added in the future, as LDV wants to add more models to its range, particularly a smaller van to plug the gap left by the Cub model, a rebadged Nissan Vanette that was sold from 1996 to 2002.

A suitable vehicle could be produced as a partnership with an existing van maker, or could be acquired. “We have several options on the table,” Jones said. Indeed, earlier this year GAZ bought the production line of the Dodge Stratus from Chrysler, shipped it to Russia and now builds the car as the GAZ Siber. It could do a similar deal with a European van maker. Alternatively it could source vans from an existing plant or even acquire a plant.

GAZ has recently acquired a 50 percent stake in Italian diesel engine maker VM Motori. The other 50 percent is owned by General Motors, and one option would be to partner with GM on light vans. GM produces the Combo van in Zaragoza, Spain, and this would be ideal for LDV. Jones said the company could sell “100,000 at least” car-derived vans.

The current Maxus van range will be replaced around 2012 by a new vehicle currently under development in Russia, known as ‘Gazel 3’. This would replace both the Maxus and the older, larger GAZ-branded Russia-market vans, and it will be available in both rear-wheel drive and front-wheel drive versions. The RWD models are due first, with the entire range being renewed over a two-year period.