The Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. said last Tuesday that it will invest some $750 million in a new research and development centre to catch up with rivals in environmental and safety technology.

New technology center

Japan’s third largest automaker inaugurated the Nissan Advanced Technology Centre (NATC) on Tuesday in Atsugi, west of Tokyo, with some 2000 employees and laboratories for advanced vehicles, electric powertrains and other equipment.

The opening of the new facility underlines the determination of the automaker to develop environmental and safety technologies that are increasingly critical for riding out the tough competition in the auto industry. “Whether products with technology that appeals to consumers can be offered in a timely manner will determine the winners and the losers,” Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said in Japanese at the opening in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture.

“NATC has been established to accelerate the research and advanced engineering of breakthrough technologies for Nissan’s next generation products,” Nissan executive vice president Mitsuhiko Yamashita said. “Future technologies being developed are aimed at environmental sustainability and towards creating a safer mobile society,” he added.

The investment will cover renovations to a powertrain development center and a global design studio, both in Atsugi, said the company in a statement. At the NATC, Nissan’s pool of engineers will pursue a range of eco-friendly technologies to limit the dangerous carbon dioxide emissions, including electric vehicles and hybrids, the statement went further. The Japanese automaker will also develop an “intelligent transportation system” in which data received from traffic beacons is used to alert drivers and aid slash reduce potential road accidents.

NATC is located in Kanagawa prefecture and that is adjacent to Tokyo. Nissan has two other major facilities in the prefecture for product planning, research and development and advanced development: the Nissan Technical Centre in Atsugi and the Nissan Research Center in Yokosuka.

The injury

The Japanese automaker was hit by a business slump in the late 1990s. Since then, it has lagged behind the Toyota Motor Corp. and the Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in the development of new-generation vehicles. Honda has intimated its plan to build a new laboratory in Japan in 2009. Last month, Nissan reported the first drop in annual profits since 1999 under its legendary chief, a Brazilian-born Frenchman who is also the Renault CEO.

Nissan officials acknowledged the company’s near collapse before its dramatic revival under a 1999 alliance with Renault SA of France meant they could not invest in technology to the degree they would have liked. But for the past several years, Nissan has been investing more in technology, they said.

The aim

Nissan Senior Vice President Minoru Shinohara said the carmaker is not preoccupied with what rivals may be doing and is focused on its own goals, such as perfecting its original hybrid system that he said will outperform the competition.

Hybrids now available from Toyota and Honda use nickel-metal hydride batteries, although all major automakers, including the General Motors Corp. of the U.S., are working on lithium-ion batteries for vehicles. Breakthroughs may be exactly what Nissan needs if it hopes to narrow the gap in hybrids with industry leaders like Toyota and Honda, analysts added.

Analysts’ say

Some analysts said Nissan has fallen behind rivals Toyota and Honda in developing gas-and-electric hybrid cars and other technologies that reduce gas emissions blamed for global warming.

Yasuaki Iwamoto, an auto analyst with Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo, said investing in the Nissan Advanced Technology Center is a step in the right direction. “Otherwise, Nissan has no chance of surviving the competition,” he said. “Catching up won’t be that easy for Nissan. It’s not as though Toyota and Honda are going to sit still and do nothing.”

Maintaining the standing under such unfavorable conditions is a key impediment researchers must overcome to make ecologically friendly vehicles. Nissan’s lithium-ion batteries, expected to have the major benefit of smaller size compared to the current systems, were being tested to to lift the standing of the automaker in the automotive battle arena.

Improving product lines

Nissan introduced a hybrid last year, but now licenses the technology from Toyota. The automaker is working on an original hybrid, set to be launched by 2010, using what it says is a superior kind of battery technology, the lithium-ion battery to be mated to Nissan engines. The batteries are commonly used in gadgets such as laptops and cell phones but have yet to be completely adapted to the more meticulous demands of a car engine.

At the automaker’s new complex for technology, experimental car batteries are stored in freezing temperatures, cooked in giant metal boxes and rattled to improve driving. The batteries are anticipated to play a critical part in Nissan’s effort to catch up in the race to develop green vehicles. The lithium-ion batteries were being tested at the center that opened Tuesday in Atsugi, just west of Tokyo.

“Whether products with technology that appeals to consumers can be offered in a timely manner will determine the winners and the losers,” Ghosn noted.

Nissan is also developing a “three-liter car” capable of traveling 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, on just three liters, or about three quarts, of gasoline. The company hopes to unveil a new model in Japan in 2010.

On alliance

The Japanese automaker is also confident in competing without additional alliance. Ghosn said last Tuesday that Nissan is under no pressure to find a new alliance partner and is not in talks with anybody despite news that a private equity firm will buy U.S.-based automaker Chrysler. “We’re not talking with anybody. I don’t think it’s the right timing today,” Ghosn said while commemorating the opening of its new technology center.

In 2006, Nissan and its French partner Renault entered months of tie-up negotiations with Detroit’s General Motors Corp. in an attempt to create an auto juggernaut across Asia, Europe and North America. The talks ended with no agreement.

Ghosn has since held open the possibility of a further merger, adding that a North American link would be a natural extension. But he has said he is currently satisfied with the scale of the Nissan-Renault partnership. “There’s no change,” he said.



By: RyanThomas

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It is widely known that Nissan is in the auto industry a long time and through the years, Nissan has introduced some of the most memorable auto models. These vehicles are now being showcased at the company’s auto museum in Tokyo.

The Ginza Gallery as it is called is located right in the middle of Tokyo’s shopping and business district. It combines the heritage of Nissan and the new auto models in its showroom. Unlike many auto museums, the Ginza Gallery is open to the public and is conveniently located in front of Nissan’s headquarters in the said city.

One of the vehicles on the gallery is the Nissan X-Trail - the compact crossover SUV that Nissan sells in the United States auto market. Its presence at the museum is proof that the gallery not only displays classic cars but also the new vehicles that Nissan produces. The X-Trail’s direct competitors are the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-V. The X-Trail is assembled at Nissan’s facility in the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

A classic Nissan car displayed at the museum is the Fairlady. The roadster is considered as one of the best looking convertibles of its time. The Fairlady is the direct ancestor of the Z car which Nissan is known for. It was first produced by the car manufacturer in 1959 and was discontinued in 1970. Throughout its stint in the market, Nissan produced 40,000 units of the roadster. The Fairlady badge though is not used in other markets. Instead, it was marketed under the Datsun Sports name. The popularity of the Fairlady is due to the fact that they are a cheaper alternative to European sports cars.

Another classic Nissan car at the Ginza gallery is the 2000 GTX. The Skyline 2000 GTX benefited from the success of the Fairlady in the sense that the capability of the company to produce high performance vehicles is already made known to the car buying public. The 2000 GTX is rated to have a top speed of 120 miles per hour. The reputation and the power of the 2000 GTX made it a big success since like the Fairlady, it is competitively priced. In fact, the 2000 GTX is used by celebrity racing enthusiasts.

Another classic model showcased at Nissan’s auto museum is the Nissan Silvia introduced in 1964. The sport coupe debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show that year and is known to be hand-built and based on the Fairlady. The fact that every Nissan Silvia was hand-built made the coupe an expensive one. From 1964 to 1968 when production was discontinued, there were 554 units of this car that was produced. Most of these cars were sold in Japan while 49 units where exported to Australia and ten more were sent to other parts of the world.

While production for the vehicle was discontinued in 1968, the Silvia will return once again to Nissan’s lineup in 1974 and was once again discontinued in 2002. In its first stint in the market, the Silvia did not attract much attention from car buyers, but in its revival in the 1970s, its popularity took off giving Nissan’s S chassis its place in the annals of the auto industry.

Another classic car displayed at the museum is the Datsun Cherry. The car family is the first Nissan vehicle to use a front-wheel drive configuration. The subcompact car is later named as the Nissan Pulsar although in some markets, it is still called the Cherry. Like its contemporaries in Datsun’s lineup, it is also engineered to be a fast car. In fact, a coupe version of the Cherry made appearances in the Japanese race circuit in the early 1970s.

Another classic model in display at the museum is the Nissan Laurel which was introduced by the company in 1968. It was intended to fill the gap between the Bluebird and the Nissan Cedric during that time. The Laurel is only marketed in select Asian and European car markets. Through its stint in Nissan’s lineup, the Laurel underwent ten generation of redesigns. Unlike the Cherry, the Laurel used the rear-wheel drive configuration.

The last vehicle on display at the museum is the Nissan Cedric. The Cedric was first introduced in 1960 and remains in Nissan’s lineup to this day making it one of Nissan’s longest running models. The Cedric is a large luxury car and is easily recognizable as a Nissan car. Its present model uses the same design concepts used by other Nissan cars from the nose, fender, Nissan door handles, and rear bumper.



By: RyanThomas

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Japan’s Nissan Motor Company launched a new pickup truck called the Frontier Navada in Thailand. The truck was set forth with high hopes and with an aim: to increase sales in the country to 55,000 units in the 2007-2008 business year and help it catch up with rivals.

“Our strategy is to restore the Nissan brand to the Tier 1 market in Thailand by 2009 alongside Toyota and Honda, partly through the introduction of more new products,” Thierry Viadieu, the president of local unit Siam Nissan Automobile Co., told reporters in the Thai capital.

The automaker expects the new pickup truck to sell 40,000 units in the business year starting in April, exceeding its total sales that include passenger cars. Nissan, held 44 per cent by France’s Renault SA, intends to start exports of the locally produced Frontier Navara for the first time in the third quarter of this year. Nissan’s spokeswoman in Tokyo also divulged this information.

The Nissan Frontier Navara uses upgraded parts for Nissan to improve its performance and capabilities. The Navara’s existence could be traced since 1986. The automaker was the pioneer in the compact pickup truck segment and industry. Nissan has started truck manufacturing in 1959. The aftermath of the venture is the Nissan Frontier. The Frontier was introduced in 1997 for the 1998 model year as a replacement for the aging 1986. Toyota followed the truck manufacture in the 1960s.

Where Toyota Motor Corp. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. are profitably selling in Thailand, Nissan is deemed a laggard. In addition, Toyota and Isuzu seize approximately four-fifths of the pickup market. Nissan vehicles, on the other hand, accounted for just 4.5 per cent of the total Thai vehicle market in 2006.

Viadieu added that 2007 was a “critical” year in which Nissan hoped to raise its market share to 8 per cent in Thailand. He also said the automaker would beef up its Thai dealership network and offer better financing packages through its wholly-owned unit - Nissan Leasing Thailand. The latter started business ventures last year.

With the downturn in Thailand, Nissan intends to make better this year and in the next years to come. It is eager to put up a tough battle with auto giants in the territory to achieve its targets under a 3-year plan that runs until March 2008.

It can be recalled that the automaker in 2004, announced its plan to sell 130,000 units over the 2005-2007 business years, the launch of 8 to 9 new models, and a ramp-up in local production capacity to 200,000 units a year. Nissan is now powered to manufacture 46,000 vehicles every year. A new 3-year plan for 2008-2010 is due to be announced in July, the spokesperson of the automaker added.

From its very first truck manufacture, the automaker is famed for its notable Nissan truck parts. These advanced auto parts paved way for the introduction of Nissan’s firsts in the compact pickup truck market including the first extended cab bodystyle in the 1979 Nissan King Cab, and the first crew cab bodystyle compact pickup in the D22 Navara.

Since 1986, Nissan has created 3 generations of the Navara. The first generation was the D21, a small pickup. The second generation of the Nissan Navara came a decade after D21 existence. The Nissan Navara D22, a compact pickup, was manufactured from 1998 and went until 2005. The second generation Navara was replaced by bigger, taller, longer D40 – a midsize pickup truck.



By: Correy Putton

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