Auto giant launches test track
Nissan Motor Asia-Pacific has opened a new vehicle test track in Thailand, Nissan's first overseas R&D vehicle-test facility in the Asean region. It also inaugurated a new office building for the Nissan Technical Centre Southeast Asia (NTCSEA), located on
With investment of ¥3.4 billion (approximately Bt1.1 billion), the expansion of NTCSEA will strengthen Nissan’s capabilities in R&D in the region, a key element of the automaker's growth strategy, executives said.
“The expansion of NTCSEA marks an important step in solidifying the foundation for Nissan’s growth objectives outlined in its mid-term business plan,” said Nissan senior vice president Atsushi Shizuta. “As a regional R&D hub in Thailand, NTCSEA will enhance product attractiveness, competitiveness and quality.” He said.
NTCSEA’s regional scope covers ten countries and six production sites across Southeast Asia. By 2015, NTCSEA will assume responsibility for all R&D processes following the vehicle physical design stage for models marketed in the Asean region. To date, these processes have been handled by the global R&D function in Japan. Between 2010 and 2016, NTCSEA will more than triple its workforce to 370. This expansion allows it to better reflect the specific preferences of customers in Southeast Asia, enabling quicker alignment with market requirements, leading to the continued development of innovative and competitive Nissan vehicles.
The new 60,000-square-metre test track, located on Bang Na-Trad Road at Km 22, is the third Nissan R&D test facility outside Japan and the first in Asia, following the Arizona Test Centre in the United States and the Aguascalientes Test Track in Mexico. The NTCSEA Test Track features 14 global road conditions and surfaces, including five that distinctly reflect Thailand, such as the Bang Na-Trad highway’s “wavy” road. It can also accommodate a maximum speed of 120 km/hour in a straight line while various tests can be performed at the 100m-diameter multi-purpose pad. The new office building, designed with the environment in mind, will also be home to the region’s Monozukuri team, the professionals responsible for creative design and manufacturing.
“The new office building features eco-friendly functions which are able to reduce CO2 emission by more than 40 per cent, thus reducing our overall corporate carbon footprint,” said Shizuta.
