Nissan Opens New Testing, R&D Facilities in Thailand
The R&D expansion is part of the auto maker’s 6-year business plan that aims to more than triple sales in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region to 500,000 units by the end of 2016.
Nissan opens its first overseas vehicle-testing facility in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, as well as new facilities for the Nissan Technical Center South East Asia, in Thailand.
The ¥3.4 billion ($36 million) expansion will strengthen Nissan’s research and development capabilities in the region, a key element of the Japanese auto maker’s growth strategy.
Senior Vice President Atsushi Shizuta calls the projects an important step in solidifying the foundation for the growth objectives outlined in Nissan’s midterm business plan.
“As a regional R&D hub in Thailand, NTCSEA will enhance product attractiveness, competitiveness and quality,” Shizuta says in a statement.
The tech center’s regional scope covers 10 countries and six production sites in the ASEAN region.
Nissan says that by 2015, the center will assume responsibility for all R&D processes following the vehicle physical design stage for models marketed in the ASEAN region. These processes now are handled by the auto maker’s global R&D operation in Japan.
The tech center will more than triple Nissan’s workforce to 370 to allow the auto maker to better reflect the specific preferences of customers in the ASEAN region.
A new, 646,000-sq.-ft. (60,000-sq.-m) test track is the third Nissan R&D test facility outside of Japan and the first in Asia, following the Arizona Test Center in the U.S. and the Aguascalientes Test Track in Mexico.
The track features 14 global road conditions and surfaces, including five that distinctly reflect Thailand. It can accommodate a maximum straight-line speed of 74 mph (120 km/h), while various tests can be performed at the 984-ft.-(100-m) diameter multipurpose pad.
The office building will be home to the region’s Monozukuri team, the professionals responsible for creative design and manufacturing.
The R&D expansion in Thailand is part of Nissan’s 6-year business plan announced in 2011 that aims to more than triple regional sales to 500,000 units with a 15% market share by the end of 2016, up from 150,000 and a 6% share in 2010.
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