Introduction
The global automotive industry has entered a new era - one that can be expected to change almost every facet of the car in the years ahead.This is an exciting time. In pursuit of environmentally sustainable mobility, Nissan is now engaged in a great race — one of the greatest engineering competitions in history. The outcome will deliver significant benefit to humanity. And within automotive industry it will distinguish the winners from the rest.
Where will the solutions be found? Will it be it fuel-cells, electric cars, bio-fuels, advanced diesels, hybrids — or something not yet invented? No one knows. As yet there is no "silver bullet" and no winner in sight.
Still, the team Nissan is confident that effective solutions are within reach. But when a winner does emerge the decision will not be made by engineers.
Consumer demand is the most powerful force for global environmental progress. And it is very democratic: by exercising their right to choose, every new car buyer in every country gets a vote. So consumers will dictate both the pace of change and its direction.
This poses a significant challenge. Since no one knows which solution will prevail, Nissan must invest massively in R&D in pursuit of every viable alternative.
Fortunately, Nissan is now ready to go the distance in this race.
In 1999, when its finances were in perilous shape, Nissan could not afford sustained investment in technological innovation — the historic core of its brand identity.
Today, with a much healthier balance sheet, our R&D budget is more than double the level of 1999. The impact is much more than double, however, because over the same period we have significantly increased the efficiency of our R&D activities.This allows Nissan to intensiv ...