There will be a familiar look to Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner Renault SA’s plants as they expand into emerging markets.
Hidetoshi Imazu, Nissan’s executive vice president in charge of manufacturing, tells Wardsauto.com that the companies are deploying integrated manufacturing systems as they open new plants around the world. Nissan already uses the approach—which creates common welding, painting, injection molding, stamping and final assembly processes between plants and partner companies—at 17 plants representing 25 assembly lines in Japan, North America and the U.K.
The flexibility of the system will allow for different levels of automation based on labor costs and other factors. Imazu says the strategy can help cut lead time and investment for new model launches by 50%.
The first facility to adopt the system in a developing market will be the new joint venture plant Nissan and Renault are opening this spring in Chennai, India. The next target will be Renault’s upcoming plant in Tangier, Morocco. The Dongfeng-Renault joint venture plant in Huada, China, also is expected to use the flexible manufacturing system.
Nissan is encouraging suppliers to its assembly plants in emerging markets to co-locate their operations, similar to the practice the automaker promotes in Japan and the U.S. The new Chennai complex also will include an on-site supplier park, which Imazu notes can reduce in-process inventories.
Nissan also has begun buying some parts made in developing countries for use in vehicles built in Japan and elsewhere. The new NV200 passenger van, for example, uses some Chinese-sourced components, Imazu says.