FastMotoring Motor News In Speed
Thai-made Nissan March subcompact cars are the first major model from a Japanese automaker being mass produced abroad and for sale in Japan. Therefore, Nissan are getting extra inspection from a team of quality experts to meet higher standards.
The team of about 50 people called “neniri,” which means “thorough” in Japanese, is double-checking quality in addition to regular checks, said Toru Hasegawa, president of Nissan Motor Co.’s Thai operations. The demand for the March in Japan (also known as the Micra in some markets like Australia) has been strong since it went on sale in July, with orders more than 20,000 so far.
Nissan is thinking about making other models in Thailand for export, Hasegawa said, as a surging yen, high labour costs and stagnating domestic demand make production in Japan less lucrative for automakers.
March production in Thailand began in March. Production is set to start in May in India, August in China, November in Indonesia and next year in Mexico.
Hasegawa highlighted the main problems with Thai-made manufactured vehicles are looks such as uneven paint jobs and parts not fitting perfectly.
Nissan is sending in about 20 workers a month to Thailand from its Japanese plant to train workers in quality production. Besides, Nissan also perform quality checks at suppliers in Thailand, which produce parts for Nissan plants in 15 nations, including Great Britain, Spain, South Africa, Mexico, China and Japan.
