Commercial vehicles manufacturer Nissan Diesel SA (NDSA) plans to increase its production capacity from 4 500 units to about 9 000 units a year from 2008, the firm says.

It recently completed a R10.9m expansion project at its Rosslyn facility in Pretoria.

“NDSA is confident that the recent growth in the local truck market will continue,” said Johan Richards, teh firm’s executive vice-president of management control.

The announcement comes amid a construction boom in the lead-up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup that saw commercial vehicle sales rising despite tough trading conditions stemming from the higher interest rates and stricter credit lending laws.

A total of 37 069 trucks were sold during 2007 - a 12% increase on 2006’s performance and the second straight year the local truck market set new sales benchmarks.