To Compete with China, Japanese Carmakers Cut Development Times
Japanese carmakers are stepping up efforts to shorten vehicle development times to catch up with Chinese competitors, which launch new models on the global market more quickly, and to respond better to changing consumer demand.
Kyodo reported on Sunday that Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and other Japanese manufacturers typically take around four to five years to develop a new model—more than twice as long as Chinese companies, which can complete the process in under two years.
As part of its reform efforts, Nissan aims to shorten development times through a vehicle-development strategy based on model families. The company will design a shared platform for several vehicle models of the same size.
For example, Nissan plans to cut development of a new SUV to three years and one month, ahead of its launch in North America in 2028.
The new product strategy will cover 80 per cent of the company’s total global sales and is expected to reduce the number of different parts by up to 70 per cent.
“This is a reform to become a company capable of responding to change and delivering quality cars at the right time,” said Hidemi Sasaki, deputy general manager of Nissan’s Product Planning Division.
Honda, seeking a significant recovery after recording its first net loss in the previous fiscal year, has introduced its “Triple Half” approach.
The strategy is designed to halve development costs, development time and workload compared with 2025 levels, making extensive use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies.
Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker by production volume, is also seeking to reduce the variety of parts used in response to consumer needs. Reducing the number of different parts is seen as a way to boost productivity and speed up vehicle development.
Through a project called “Area 35”, Toyota aims to improve factory floor-space efficiency by 35 per cent.
Suzuki Motor Corp. plans to halve its current development time to around two years. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is targeting a 20 per cent reduction, to three years, by around 2030.