Automakers Embrace Customization at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2013

Jan. 12 – Makuhari, Chiba – These are some of the wildest rides at Tokyo Auto Salon 2013.
For Japan’s car enthusiasts, the annual tuning and aftermarket show is a place to gather each January among a dazzling array of tricked up cars, vans and trucks.

Nissan Juke Personalization Concept at Tokyo Auto Salon 2013

Customization has long been a rich subculture for car lovers and represents a multi-billon dollar business with shows like this one getting bigger every year.
The trend shows signs of entering the mainstream with large automakers producing a growing number of factory-tuned performance cars, as well as more after-purchase customization options.
Increasingly, consumers want to show greater individuality through their cars but may not want to undertake changes themselves, says Takuya Ito, chief project manager for Nissan’s conversion and accessory buisness.
“We provide two directions for customers’ customization needs. The first is personalization, which is fashionable and trendy, while NISMO is for the sports direction, and it’s completely different in order to avoid cannibalization,” said Ito.
“Nissan can provide for a wide variety of customer needs.”

Fairlady Z NISMO

Nissan will start selling the high-performance Juke NISMO in February, while it also showed an  all-electric LEAF with a specially developed NISMO body kit and a track-tuned version of the Fairlady Z at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
Brands including Toyota and Honda exhibited an array of customized cars at the event.
Honda displayed a slew of production and concept models, including its popular N-One minicar featuring multiple grille options.
Toyota showed cars from its G-series sports-conversion line, including the Aqua G Sports Concept hybrid.
“I think this is cool because we then don’t have to contract out the customization [after buying a car],” said Hiroshi Nakamura, a visitor to the show.

Tokyo Auto Salon 2013 at Makuhari Messe

“Carmakers should be encouraged to do this and if they do, it gives us consumers more choices,” he added.
“It’s reassuring and we can trust them, so I think it’s very good,” said Keisuke Murakami, another visitor on the show’s first day.
And if that’s not to your tastes, it’s highly likely you’ll find something that appeals at the Tokyo Auto Salon.

Nissan Murano Production Heads to Canton, Miss., in 2014

Jan. 11 – Canton, Miss. – The next-generation Nissan Murano is on the move to the U.S. where it will be assembled by workers at Nissan’s Canton Manufacturing and Assembly Plant beginning in 2014.
This news comes as Nissan begins celebrating 10 years of manufacturing in Mississippi where it currently builds the award-winning Altima, the Armada full-size SUV, the Xterra mid-size SUV, the Titan and Frontier pickup trucks and NV commercial and passenger vans.

“As we look back on ten years of manufacturing in Canton, it’s become clear throughout the Nissan network that ‘Made in Mississippi’ is a stamp of quality and great people,” said Bill Krueger, vice chairman of Nissan Americas. “With the addition of this new model in Canton, Nissan is well on its way toward meeting our goal to manufacture 85 percent of the vehicles we sell in the U.S. right here in North America.”
The new Nissan Murano will showcase a progressive crossover design, and the company will unveil styling cues for future Nissan crossovers on a concept vehicle debuting at the North American International Auto Show on Jan. 14.

Nissan Launches Juke NISMO at Tokyo Auto Salon

Jan. 11 – Makuhari, Chiba prefecture – Nissan took the covers off the highly anticipated Juke NISMO Friday, launching the first model in NISMO’s new brand strategy.

Nissan unveils the Nismo Juke at Tokyo Auto Salon 2013

Nissan opted to showcase the special Juke at Tokyo Auto Salon 2013, an event renowned for its enthusiast following, with Japanese dealers set to begin sales next month.
The stylish, more-powerful crossover features a tuned 197 horsepower (200PS), turbo-charged petrol engine, improved styling and aerodynamics, and a special sport suspension.
“We are trying to expand the NISMO brand into road cars, incorporating some motorsports elements, such as aerodynamics, fun to drive and excitement,” said NISMO President Shoichi Miyatani.

NISMO President Shocihi Miyatani

“Juke NISMO is targeting the wider audience of people who are somehow interested in cars, somehow interested in driving cars, somehow interested in performance cars, but not only motorsports fans.”
The duked-up Juke, first shown as a concept at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, is part of big expansion plans for Nissan’s performance arm.
NISMO unveiled the March NISMO Concept at last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, while this year’s event in Makuhari also showcases a body kit developed for the electric LEAF and a NISMO racecar version of the Fairlady Z two seater.

NISMO Chief Product Specialist Hiroshi Tamura

“The NISMO brand shows Nissan’s innovation and excitement is for everyone. It’s the ultimate essence. That’s the big point, the starting point,” said NISMO Chief Product Specialist Hiroshi Tamura.
The Juke NISMO offers a 37% increase in down-force compared with the stock model, aided by a reshaped front bumper, new side skirts and roof-mounted spoiler.
Its new suspension was specially developed in Europe where the average driving speeds are faster and roads are more irregular than those found in Japan.

The Juke NISMO at Tokyo Auto Salon 2013

Inside, the cabin features suede-trimmed NISMO sports seats with red stitching and customization spanning everything from the steering wheel to the air vents.
“We can make any number of cars that are beautiful, pleasant for people to look at, but when we work with NISMO, that’s not enough,” said Shinji Sasaki, the car’s chief designer.
“There has to be solid functionality behind that. In this Juke NISMO there is functional meaning behind every single design element.”
The Juke NISMO goes on sale in Japan on February 19 with a starting price of 2.85 million yen.

A Yen for Japan Inc.

Jan. 11 – Tokyo – Japan Inc. may have found a new hero with an old record: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“My thinking is that your support had something to do with my winning reelection,” said Abe.
In his second stint leading Japan after an election win in December, Abe says his Liberal Democratic Party’s main objective is a stronger economy
Central to achieving that goal is a weaker yen, which should help exporters, including Japan’s top automakers whom Abe addressed this week.
“Even though we’ve tried our best and put our hearts into our efforts, the strong yen makes us unable to be competitive,” said Abe. “It’s my belief that if Japan stands at the same start line, Japan can’t lose.”
Amid expectations of action, the yen has declined 5% since Abe’s election victory, and 11% since the end of September.
Further weakening can’t come quickly enough for the nation’s manufacturers, says Nissan COO Toshiyuki Shiga.
“The now yen has weakened and stock prices are increasing but these are still [based on] expectations,” said Shiga.
The currency’s unprecedented strength against the dollar reached a pinnacle in October of 2010 – stopping a hair above 75 yen – squeezing corporate profits in the world’s fourth largest exporter of goods.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has said that every one-yen gain against the dollar cuts 20 billion yen ($228 million) from operating profit and that 100 yen to the dollar is optimal.
Akio Toyoda, Chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and Toyota CEO agrees.
“Brand makers are at the forefront, but they’re supported by parts makers, small- and medium-sized firms and microenterprises. This is the industry,” said Toyota.
“So unless the rate reaches 100, there’s no doubt that Japan’s auto production and monozukuri are in crisis.”
The road ahead may be challenging. Only 1 of 60 analysts surveyed expect the yen to reach 100 against the dollar this year, according to Reuters.
But Abe will ask the Bank of Japan later this month to increase its inflation target – a step that could nudge the currency closer to the industry’s magic number.

Delivering Electric Mobility

Jan 10 – Yokohama – Nissan already commands a leading position in zero-emission passenger cars with the Nissan LEAF. Now the technology is being extended into commercial vehicles.

On the road with the e-NV200

The latest company to test a prototype of the e-NV200 is Coca-Cola Central Japan Co., Ltd. The van combines the innovative powertrain of the Nissan LEAF with the practical NV200 vehicle base.
It delivers not just zero emissions, but also superior acceleration and quietness.
“Our aim from this trial is not just to reduce the CO2 we are responsible for,” said Yukihiko Nakamura from Coca-Cola Japan.
“After the earthquake in Northern Japan there is a big demand in society for what is called ‘peak shift.’ That is to reduce the consumption of electricity during the day time. We wanted to investigate the challenges we face when we try to achieve these two goals. By borrowing Nissan’s prototype EV we can examine it in detail.”
Coca-Cola deployed the van as a regional sales vehicle, and recharge it only at night when electricity consumption is low.
The trial is to determine whether a single nightly charge is sufficient to meet user needs during the day.

The e-NV200

“Many customers have a plan, or a commitment, for the environment,” said Hideyuki Tateno, Nissan’s deputy chief vehicle engineer on the project.
“This vehicle will make it real to reduce CO2. I am confident that in the future this electric van will be running around the world.”
The e-NV200 is scheduled to launch by fiscal 2014.

China’s Road to Recovery

Jan. 9 – Tokyo – Nissan sales in China are steadily recovering as the impact of a territorial island dispute between Japan and the mainland show signs of subsiding.

Sales for the month of December fell 24%, a marked improvement from a 30% decline in November and a 41% drop in October.

Nissan COO Toshiyuki Shiga at an industry New Year event in Tokyo

Annual sales for Japan’s largest automaker in China were down 5.3% to 1.18 million units, exceeding the revised target announced in November.
“We are completely in a recovery mode and maybe after Chinese New Year we can be back to the normal level of sales,” said Nissan Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga, at a New Year gathering of automotive manufacturers in Tokyo on Jan. 7.
Japanese automaker sales slumped in the world’s largest car market as Chinese consumers boycotted showrooms after tensions rose over the disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu islands in September.
Toyota reported a 4.9% decrease in new car sales for 2012, while Honda sales fell 3.1%.
But December data suggests a faster-than-expected recovery and new governments in both nations could mend ties between Asia’s two biggest economies.

“I think improvement of relations can come from working on various issues, we need to find common interests that are mutually beneficial,” said Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

Cars lined up for final inspection at Nissan's Huadu plant

Nissan also bolstered showroom traffic by offering to repair cars damaged during anti-Japan demonstrations and has introduced a new quality assurance program, which includes a seven-day return policy on all Nissan and Venucia brand models on sale in China.

That’s helped the automaker to begin operating two shifts at its Huadu plant in southern China after cutting production following last year’s protests.
“I hope that the government will take appropriate action to make a more amicable solution for the two countries. After that maybe we can have a more optimistic forecast for the Chinese market,” said COO Shiga.
For Japanese automakers, already battling a strong yen and a challenging sales environment in Europe, recovery in China can’t come soon enough.

Nissan Resonance – previewing the new Murano

Ahead of its debut at the North American International Auto Show next week, Nissan has released a teaser image of its Resonance crossover concept. The vehicle is expected to offer a preview of the replacement for the current Murano SUV.
The second-gen Z51 Murano premiered in 2007, which means it’s about due time for a new one – wonder if there are plans for a topless version like the rather eccentric Murano CrossCabriolet ast it goes along. No details as yet on the Resonance, save that it’ll have a hybrid-electric powertrain. More when the wraps come off it in Detroit, undoubtedly.

SPIED: Nissan Serena – fourth-gen C26 spotted in KL

It’s promising to be a very active year in terms of new vehicles entering our market, and by the looks of it, the fourth-generation Nissan Serena may be one of the many entries. Reader Richard saw this C26 heading towards Salak South from Sungai Besi earlier, and duly snapped a trio of photos. Tip of the hat to you, sir.
Indonesia is getting the C26, so it wouldn’t stretch things too much to get it in here as well. Over in that market, the eight-seater MPV is going up against the likes of the Mazda Biante, which debuted at the Jakarta show last September, as well as the Toyota NAV1, the local variant of the Noah minivan.

The petrol Serena is powered by a MR20DD 2.0 litre direct injection mill offering 147 hp at 5,600 rpm and 210 Nm of torque at 4,400 rpm; it’s paired to a Xtronic CVT gearbox. There’s also an S-Hybrid variant, which mounts an auxiliary motor to increase power output and power generation capabilities. The hybrid system battery fits in the current engine compartment.
The JDM petrol version features an Idling Stop system, VDC, TCS, ABS and EBD plus Brake Assist, Hill Start assist as well as curtain and side airbags on its equipment list.

Nissan enhances Leaf battery warranty in the US

Over in the US, Nissan is set to enhance the warranty of the battery modules in its Leaf EV to stem the concern from certain owners about the battery’s durability. It seems that battery life wasn’t previously spelled out in the vehicle’s overall warranty.
The limited warranty coverage in the US, which applies to all existing Leafs as well as those entering the market in 2013, will see Nissan offering to repair or replace the lithium-ion battery if it loses more than 30% of its ability to hold a charge (in this case, below nine bars of the available 12 bars displayed on the battery capacity gauge) for the first five years or 90,000 km.
Automotive News reports that the move comes after months of communication between Nissan and seven US Leaf owners in Phoenix, Arizona, who claim that their vehicle’s battery is aging faster than Nissan told them to expect.

In 2010, the automaker stated that the Leaf’s batteries would behave much like handphone batteries, slowly losing its ability to hold a full recharge after years of driving. The company told Leaf buyers that they could expect a 20% loss in charging capacity after five years of use, based on normal driving patterns.
The Phoenix owners, however, claimed the capacity loss was happening much faster than that. Nissan dispatched engineers to investigate, and found that the seven owners had been putting twice as much mileage on their cars as a normal driver would.
Nissan says that the new battery warranty coverage is to reassure consumers, adding that save for vehicles in areas of extreme summer heat and subject to heavier-than-normal driving, a typical Leaf owner isn’t expected to see that kind of capacity loss. In line with developments, the company is planning to unveil an improved battery gauge that will display remaining capacity with better precision.

Datsun cars to be based on Lada Kalina platform

In March last year, we were greeted with the news that Nissan will bring back the classic Datsun brand. Datsun, which is no strange name to Malaysians, will be relaunched as a budget brand pitched to high-growth emerging markets like India, Indonesia and Russia.
Now we know Datsun cars will be based on a Lada. “Datsuns will be built off the new Lada Kalina platform,” Nissan’s executive vice president Colin Dodge told Automotive News Europe. In May 2012, the Renault-Nissan Alliance and state corporation Russian Technologies agreed to create a JV that will see the Alliance take over AvtoVAZ, maker of Russia’s Lada cars.
The cars will use a modular platform with shared elements such as braking and fuel systems as well as steering mechanicals, Dodge said. However, Nissan’s top exec in Europe said that Datsuns would differ visually from the Russian car. “The upper body and interior will be completely different, You won’t notice it as a Lada,” he stressed.

Datsun boss Vincent Cobee revealed that the brand will launch two models in the first year, with a third arriving in 2015. The cars will be revealed by the end of 2013. How cheap will they be? The Wall Street Journal cited sources including Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn as saying the target starting price for Datsuns is 2,300 euros (RM9,275).
Datsuns sold in Russia will be made alongside Nissan’s new Russia-only Almera sedan at AvtoVAZ’s factory southeast of Moscow. Datsuns sold in India and Indonesia will be made locally, in Chennai and Cikampek, respectively.