Nissan 2007 Annual Report Download - page 36

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 36 of the 2007 Nissan annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 93

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93

Nissan Annual Report 2006-2007
34
Inspired Technology for the Environment,
Safety and Driving Pleasure
Nissan’s R&D operations focus on providing our
customers with consummate assurance of
driving pleasure. That concept covers four
technological facets: environment, safety,
dynamic performance, and what we refer to as
“life on board.” We have set clear targets for each
of these elements, and they are expressed in our
short-term, mid-term, and long-term R&D plans.
For the environment
Last December we announced our mid-term
environmental action plan, known as Nissan Green
Program 2010. As outlined in this plan, we view the
following three issues as paramount: reducing carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions; minimizing emissions to
preserve the atmosphere, water and soil; and the
recycling of resources (reduce/reuse/recycle).
Among the many environmental challenges we
face, the issue of reducing CO2emissions is one of
our highest priorities. Nissan considers the gasoline
engine the primary power plant for cars in the short-
to mid-term, and we are developing technologies to
enable gasoline-powered cars to significantly
improve their fuel consumption. In practical terms,
this will have a major impact because of the sheer
number of gas-driven vehicles on the road. We are
also working on “clean diesels,” as well as cars that
run on bio-ethanol fuels made from plants and other
renewable resources. Concurrently, we are boosting
our efforts to develop cars that will operate on
electric power, such as hybrid and plug-in hybrid
cars, fuel-cell vehicles and electric vehicles.
During fiscal 2007, we will introduce an engine
to world markets that incorporates our VVEL or
Variable Valve Event & Lift system. VVEL optimizes
valve timing and lift, which results in more efficient
airflow through the cylinder. Besides significantly
improving responsiveness, this fine-tunes the
balance between power and environmental
performance, reducing CO2emissions by
approximately 10 percent. We are developing a
gasoline engine that emits the same level of CO2
that diesel engines do, representing an overall
reduction in CO2of approximately 20 percent. That
engine will debut worldwide in fiscal 2010. The same
year we will also introduce a “three-liter car” in Japan
that can run approximately 100 kilometers on three
liters of gasoline, exceeding 30 kilometers per liter,
or more than 75 miles per gallon. This also slashes
CO2emissions by about 30 percent, roughly
equivalent to what a hybrid car achieves.
MITSUHIKO YAMASHITA
Executive Vice President
TECHNOLOGY
»INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE
500
400
300
200
6
5
4
3
FY
’99 ’00 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07
(Forecast)
4.0% 3.8%
4.2% 4.4%
4.8%
4.6% 4.7%
4.4%
4.8%
239 232
262
300
354
398
448 465 490
R&D (left scale) % of net revenue (right scale)
R&D Expenditure
(Billion Yen) (% of net revenue)
1. Harvest Plan
2. Seeding &
Growth
3. Soil Enrichment
The Orchard Concept