Nissan today unveiled a production line at its Tochigi Plant featuring the Nissan Intelligent Factory initiative. This unique initiative supports the manufacture of next-generation vehicles using innovative technologies and contributes to the realization of carbon neutrality. Nissan also announced a roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 at its production plants around the world. Since its foundation, Nissan has honed its ability to manufacture vehicles through high quality and highly efficient production processes and the superb skills of the company’s takumi (master technicians). However, the business environment surrounding manufacturing is undergoing major changes. In Japan, there is a need to break away from conventional labor-intensive manufacturing to cope with an aging society and serious labor shortage. Unforeseen situations, such as climate change and pandemics, also need to be managed. At the same time, industry trends in electrification, vehicle intelligence and connected technologies are making vehicle structure and functionality more advanced and complex.
Nissan introduced the Nissan Intelligent Factory initiative at its Tochigi Plant to respond to these needs and trends. Nissan Intelligent Factory enables Nissan to:
1. Use robots that have inherited the skills of takumi to manufacture next-generation vehicles; of the highest quality,
2. Create an improved environment where a wide range of people can work comfortably, and;
3. Realize a zero-emission production system, thereby accelerating efforts to achieve a decarbonized society.
Tochigi Plant is scheduled to start production of the all-new Nissan Ariya crossover electric vehicle this fiscal year.
About Nissan Intelligent Factory
Pillars
1) Building the future of mobility: Response to CASE
Nissan aims to innovate its production lines to produce next-generation vehicles which will be electrified, intelligent and connected with more advanced and complex technologies.
2) Bringing craftsmanship to robots: Manufacturing at the highest quality
The refined skills of takumi will be taught to robots. Takumi will support the manufacture of high quality vehicles by further improving the workplace and focusing on new, unexplored areas of expertise that cannot be automated.
3) Making better workplaces with robots
Nissan will work to create an environment in which it is easy to work by using robots to help with difficult tasks. Nissan will also continue to diversify work styles to make manufacturing plants where women and the elderly can work with greater ease.
(4) Zero-emission production system
To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Nissan aims to completely electrify all production equipment and switch to full use of renewable and or alternative energy sources.
Technologies (figures in parentheses denote those applicable to the above pillars)
Simultaneous Underfloor Mounting Operation (SUMO) (1, 3)
- Multiple powertrain components that were conventionally mounted through labor-intensive, multiple processes are now batch-mounted from a pallet.
- The two-layer structure of the pallet, divided into front, center, and rear, allows 27 different module combinations (3 x 3 x 3) in a single facility.
- Real-time vehicle position measurement and highly accurate (±0.05 mm) component position correction is used.
Automated tightening and alignment of suspension links (2, 3)
- A process that used to require manual installation with multiple processes has been refined to a single process with automated alignment adjustment.
- High-load work that requires high torque during tightening has been fully automated.
- Adjustment by robot, with an accuracy of 0.1°, ensures high-precision alignment beyond that produced by takumi.
Automated headliner installation (2, 3)
- Automation of a process that conventionally requires working in a high-load position. In addition, headliner weight is increasing due to the addition of intelligent and connected parts.
- The installation of soft parts, which was previously difficult to automate, has been automated by transferring takumi skills to robots.
- Automated clip insertion, which usually requires use of delicate sensing with the fingers, has been realized by using a force sensor to check insertion force in real time.
Automated cockpit module installation (2)
- Robots reproduce the high-level skills of takumi to control variations and left-right differences during installation.
- For a well-proportioned and seamless cockpit, a high-speed vision system precisely measures dimensions and corrects the position in ±0.05 mm increments.
New dimple welding method (1)
Dimple welding reduces the flange width of the door sash (window frame) by 4.5 mm, producing a better view for the driver.
Electrical systems that respond to increasing vehicle intelligence (1)
The increase in vehicle intelligence has in turn increased the amount of data that needs to be written.

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