Nissan Rebadges Mazda5 MPV for Japan, Calls it the New Lafesta Highway Star

After preparing its customers with an announcement in January, Nissan today went ahead and introduced a re-badged version of the Mazda5 MPV (called Premacy in its home market) in the form of the new Lafesta Highway Star. The compact minivan is supplied to Nissan by Mazda on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis, and will be sold exclusively in Japan. Read more »

Nissan to Sell Rebadged Mazda5 MPV in Japan

Nissan and Mazda said Friday that they are expanding their original equipment manufacturing (OEM) projects to include the Mazda Premacy, otherwise known as the Mazda5 MPV in markets such as North America and Europe. Under the agreement, Mazda will supply a "clearly differentiated version" of the Premacy to Nissan for sale in Japan, starting from May this year, the two companies said in a joint statement.

No pictures or other details have been released at this point, but given the short timeframe, Japanese buyers shouldn't expect any significant changes over the Premacy.

The two Japanese automakers are currently collaborating through a mutual OEM agreement, which enables Mazda to provide the Bongo Van/Truck to Nissan (sold as the Nissan Vanette Van/Truck), while Nissan supplies the AD/AD Expert to Mazda (sold as the Mazda Familia Van).

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