NISSAN is to debut its new MPV, the six-seater Almera Tino at the Geneva Motor Show in March, a year before it is due to go on sale. The all-new car will be a derivative of a model developed for the domestic Japanese market.

The Tino project - an all new C-segment MPV - aims to meet the expanding demand for flexible family transport in Europe and Japan. Separate engineering teams have been working in the different continents to ensure that utility, versatility and practicality exactly match the requirements of each market. The Almera Tino will be manufactured at Nissan Motor Iberica in Barcelona and will share the platform of the next generation Almera, which is to be manufactured at Nissan's Sunderland plant in 2000.

Both these models will use one of five new platforms Nissan plans to introduce by 2005. Nissan announced in November that all 25 existing platforms are to be discontinued as part of an economy and efficiency drive to save £500 million and cut development time from 30 months to 19.

The first of Nissan's new platforms appeared in October when the new Sunny was launched in Japan. The Almera Tino will make its debut on the European market in the first half of 2000 and will feature a dedicated engine line-up and interior design. It is one of 10 new cars the manufacturer will launch in Europe in the next four years.