JAPAN: Nissan to boost common parts programme
Nissan is ramping up its parts commonisation programme with the aim to produce 60% of vehicles under its so-called Common Module Family (CMF) in 2016, up from 12% in 2013 when the first series of cars under the plan will roll out.
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Senior vice president Yasuhiro Yamauchi admitted that using common parts could increase the risk of a big product recall but said Nissan was taking steps to avoid quality problems.
In the wake of recent natural disasters in Japan and Thailand, Nissan said it would also avoid concentration of parts production at a single location, as well as by a single supplier.
Under the CMF, Nissan will double the use of common parts in its next generation cars to 80%. Toyota is also planning to build more cars using common parts following Volkswagen, whose common-parts drive aims to reduce production costs of 3.5m small- and mid-sized cars by around 20%.
Nissan also reported that sales in China were improving daily after falling nearly 35% year on year in September, due largely to an upsurge of anti-Japanese feeling sparked by a row over disputed islands.
