Nissan Shatai will buy some car parts for a new model directly from South Korean suppliers, becoming the first member of the Nissan group to do so, to cut costs amid the yen’s strength against South Korea’s won, company president Yoshiaki Watanabe.
Nissan Shatai, a subsidiary of Nissan Motor, set up a special division last April to select new parts makers, especially in South Korea, and decided to buy about 200 items from 26 companies that have a good track record as suppliers for Renault Samsung Motors and are capable of providing products at almost the same quality as those made in Japan, Kyodo News reported.
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The imported parts will be used in a new light commercial vehicle, the NV350 Caravan, to be produced at the company’s subsidiary Nissan Shatai Kyushu, and expected on sale this summer.
”For us to use parts from South Korea, which is geographically close to Kyushu, has major significance,” Watanabe said. ”From now on, we want to continue to secure supplies from local firms in Kyushu while also considering expanding the procurement ratio from South Korea.”
The new model is expected to bring the Kyushu plant’s total output in fiscal 2012, which begins on 1 April, beyond 100,000 units for the first time, Watanabe said.
The expected output for the current fiscal year ending in March will be about 69,000 units due to the impact from the 11 March earthquake/tsunami last year and the strong yen.
