FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
21 November 1998
NEW NISSAN PLATFORM STRATEGY TO CUT GLOBAL COSTS
Nissan will introduce five new state-of-the-art passenger car platforms by 2005 as part of its global business reform plan and discontinue all of the current 25 platforms in a sweeping move to improve efficiency and cut costs.
By reducing the number of platforms from 25 to five, Nissan will achieve cost savings of Y100 billion (£500 million) and shrink development time from 30 months to 19. This strategy is central to Nissan’s global plan to combat increasing competition and the economic slump in the Japanese and Asian markets. Other measures include the reduction of global inventories, debt reduction and a more intensive focus on core activities.
Nissan rolled out the first of its new high-tech platforms in the domestic Japanese market last month when it launched the all-new Sunny. Called MS (for medium/small) this flexible platform represents a major technical breakthrough for Nissan, and will form the base of 10 models, with a combined production of 1.2 million units worldwide.
The next Almera to be manufactured at Nissan’s plant in the UK, and a new compact MPV, which will be built at Nissan facilities in Spain will both use the MS platform when they begin production in 2000. Future versions of the Primera, manufactured after 2000, will also use versions of the new platform.
The remaining four passenger car platforms will support the launch of new small, B-segment cars, medium/large front-wheel-drive models, and rear-wheel-drive models in the “large” and “luxury” categories.
The new MS platform features light weight and flexible dimensions to suit a wide range of model requirements. Impact absorption is improved significantly for industry-leading crash protection, and a 30 per cent increase in rigidity reduces noise and vibration while improving driver enjoyment. This platform alone will save Nissan around Y30 billion (£150 million) worldwide.
"Nissan's new global platform strategy will give a major boost to our business not only here in Europe, but worldwide too,” said Norio Matsumura, President of Nissan Europe. “Apart from reducing costs and development time, our new platforms have tremendous benefits for the customer,” he added, “and this will translate into improved sales in all our markets.”
Nissan continued its upward trend in Europe as its total retail sales increased 3.5 per cent in October - from a year earlier - to 41,179 units, despite a total industry decline of 0.4 per cent in the same month. Calendar year-to-date sales totalled 459,293 units, up 9.5 per cent from 1997. The October retail result was boosted by both volume and niche models.
Nissan has been the best-selling Japanese auto brand in Europe since 1975. Nissan's European operations include styling, design and development, manufacturing, sales, finance and industrial machinery. More than 15,000 people are directly employed in operations, with additional jobs created in over 4,000 Nissan dealerships across Europe.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Graham Biggs Product Affairs Manager 01923 899930
e-mail graham.biggs@nissan.co.uk
Stuart McKee Corporate Affairs Manager 01923 899930
e-mail stuart.mckee@nissan.co.uk
23877/211198