Scandal-tarnished Nissan shows off production innovation
06 September, 2020
Nissan Motor Co says it is rolling out a new way to produce high-tech auto parts that highlights the Japanese automaker’s engineering finesse, even while it faces a criminal trial within an ongoing scandal involving former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.
Nissan said it has achieved a “breakthrough” in molding carbon fiber reinforced plastic, or CFRP, components, now found in racing cars and jets because of their light-weight and strength.
Each of the world’s top automakers are working to improve CFRP use. The hurdles have been cost, which is normally about 10 times that of steel, and the very long time it takes to mold the parts.
Executive Vice President Hideyuki Sakamoto said the CFRP parts will be utilized in mass-produced sport-utility vehicles in 4 or 5 years, thanks to a new casting process of the poured resin.
The cost savings come from shortening the production time from around three or four hours to just two minutes, Sakamoto said. A vehicle rolls off a Nissan assembly line every 2 minutes.
Vehicle weight is essential in making models ecological when emissions standards are growing tighter all over the world, he said.
Nissan's efforts are essential because much of the price tag on a car comes from its production, not recycleables, said Junya Inoue, associate professor at the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo.
But automakers have struggled with the price and shaping of CFRP parts, and also with creating a recycling system for them, which is more difficult than with metals, Inoue said Friday.
“Production innovation will remain hidden,” he said. “But Nissan boasts great engineering technology.”
Nissan's troubles aren’t over, as its bottom line has been slammed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Global credit history agency DBRS Morning Star said this week that Nissan’s lineup is aging, its new models have a tendency to be in passenger cars where income are low, and sales are suffering in the key North American market. It downgraded Nissan to “negative,” following downgrades last year and earlier this season.
Nissan also faces financial misconduct charges linked to under-reporting Ghosn’s compensation, in a Tokyo trial that opens Sept. 15. Greg Kelly, an American former senior executive, can be on trial. Nissan has acknowledged guilt, while Kelly says he's innocent.
In brighter news, Nissan is likely to unveil a new version of its flagship Z sports vehicle at about the same time.
Source: japantoday.com
TAG(s):