Business Activities

Our role as a member of the Nissan Group is to undertake commissions from our parent Nissan Motors and provide a full finished-vehicle manufacturing service from development to assembly. Along with our six consolidated subsidiaries, headed by Nissan Shatai Kyushu, we have developed a business structure capable of a complementary suite of facilities to the Group with the development and manufacture of completed vehicles at its very core.

Development and Manufacture of Completed Vehicles

Manufacturing various vehicles

Our company's main business is the development and manufacture of passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The total number of vehicles manufactured since our foundation hit the 15 million mark in 2007 and many of the models we have produced over the years have gone on to become famous. The store of knowhow and technological skill we have accumulated in this process is currently standing us in good stead in the LCV (light commercial vehicle) field which demands both a high degree of resilience in the vehicles offered and also a considerable degree of variation in the types of models demanded. As the global 'motherland' of the Nissan network we are currently strengthening our resources to fulfil our role for the Group in response to these challenges.

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  Ceremony to mark the achievement of the 15 million vehicles made milestone

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  3D-CAD-powered virtual design

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    Fairlady Z (S30)

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    Caravan (E20)

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    Datsun Truck (D22)

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    Elgrand (E50)

The Nissan Shatai Group has years of experience as a manufacturer of completed vehicles and is exploiting the richness of the technological knowledge accumulated at its two main production facilities: our Shonan Plant that specializes in 'multi-model, variable-quantity production' and our cutting-edge Nissan Shatai Kyushu Plant which boasts the most advanced technology seen anywhere - even within the global Nissan group - and the most recently developed manufacturing processes available.

Shonan Plant

Nissan's working cars are made in Shonan

One of our main factories is the Shonan Plant, which is located in Shonan in Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture and boasts the ability to carry out pressing, vehicle body, paintwork, assembly and head office functions. In order to improve its productivity even more, we are currently reorganizing operations to create a new Shonan Plant that can continue the evolution of the ‘High-mix, low-volume vehicle production' system. With this system, the plant can produce the NV200 and Cedric models as well as a wide range of Nissan brand LCV (light commercial vehicles) including the Patrol pickup.

Nissan Shatai Kyushu

Plant commenced operations in 2010

Nissan Shatai Kyushu is able to produce 120,000 vehicles yearly. It produces 5 models including the premium INFINITI brand "QX80", the "Elgrand" minivan, and the commercial-use van "Caravan". More than 70 percent of the plant's total production volume is exported to the overseas market. The "Armada" is a full-size SUV with a 5.6-liter engine for the North American market where it is very popular.

Nissan Shatai Kyushu will maintain and improve its high level of production quality that enables the production of the premium brand INFINITI. We will also increase the flexibility of our production corresponding to vehicle type ratio in order to increase efficiency when performing mixed production of multiple models on one line, including those with fundamentally different construction methods such as monocoque and frame-vehicles.

Explanation about the business environment

The automobile industry is in the midst of a period of change of a magnitude that is said to happen only once in 100 years. At the heart of this change are the C.A.S.E. themes of connectivity, autonomous (self-driving vehicles), sharing and electric. For Nissan Shatai, a manufacturer of conventional motor vehicles, to achieve sustained growth in the business climate created by these changes, there must be activities for incorporating next-generation power trains and advanced technologies in the large number of vehicles made by Nissan Shatai that are reaching the end of long life cycles.

If the pace of using next-generation technology is slow, there is a risk of vehicles made by Nissan Shatai losing their competitive edge or of competition with a new company as companies in other industries enter the automobile industry. These events may have a negative effect on the Nissan Shatai Group’s financial position and performance. Nissan Shatai is working on creating and using technologies that can be used for the production of next-generation vehicles.

For upcoming vehicle events, a map is created for technologies and processes that will be required in each fiscal year and then actions are taken to add these technologies and processes. One result of these measures is the launch of vehicles that incorporate highly advanced safety systems like automatic emergency braking that reduces collision damage.

As the Nissan Shatai Group looks ahead to the future of the LCV and frame-vehicle categories, activities will continue on themes for responding to social needs and for making vehicles more competitive as well as for the utilization of advanced ITS technology and other technologies.