Wednesday, December 11, 1996
Volume 1 No:238 Issued: 01:00 p.m. JST
Major automakers in the U.S., Japan and Europe are aggressively moving to design new models on computer networks.
Electronic design helps carmakers slash development costs by providing direct links to producers of autoparts around the world, industry observers say. Development periods can be also halved from the more than two years currently common.
Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and three other Japanese makers are building a network around a "virtual car" design which can be used to standardize and exchange design and development data. They hope to work out the bugs in the system by the end of fiscal 1997.
The virtual car is based on a Nissan subcompact: Nissan is in charge of body design; Honda Motor Co. is responsible for the engine; Toyota is handling manufacturing preparations; Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. are dealing with the design and development of other components.
The Big Three U.S. carmakers, which use more in-group autoparts than Japanese companies, are developing cars on separate online networks.
General Motors Corp. seems to have begun development of an advanced car in this fashion.
European carmakers are wary of the moves by their Japanese and American rivals. More than 10 makers from Germany, France, Italy, the U.K. and Sweden, including Audi AG, Saab AB, Fiat SpA and Volkswagen AG, have teamed up with the aviation industry on online development projects.
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