FastMotoring Motor News In Speed

Today, the first production model of the Infiniti Q50 has been rolled off the assembly line at the Tochigi production plant. The official off-line ceremony was presided over by Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., and Johan de Nysschen, President of Infiniti Motor Company Ltd.

The Q50 was premiered at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit back in January 2013. The Q50 is the first in the new generation of Infiniti vehicles. It sets fresh benchmarks in the areas of emotive styling, advanced technology and performance.

Ghosn paid tribute to the production team at Tochigi and underlined their reputation for industry-leading manufacturing expertise.

“Thanks to the skill and constant focus on performance improvement, Tochigi has a global reputation for producing top-quality vehicles. Year after year, Tochigi sets the benchmark for manufacturing quality standards,” he said.

“With the Q50, once again the Tochigi team has showcased their skill and expertise and proven the power of Japanese monozukuri.”

De Nysschen added that the Q50 was the opening salvo in Infiniti’s new product portfolio under the “Q” naming structure which was launched in December last year.

“The first Infiniti in our new line-up had to reflect the brand’s core values of seductive design, passionate attention to detail, precision in fit and finish, exhilarating performance and a provocative challenge to the status quo. The Q50 certainly does that,” he said.

“This is the first step in the launch of our exciting global expansion plan.”

Three-time Formula One World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, played an active role in the testing and evaluation programme of the Q50 in his capacity of Infiniti’s Director of Performance. Vettel will assist in shaping the performance dynamics of Infiniti’s future model line-up. 

“The first Q50 is coming off the line today so congratulations. I am glad I was involved in the development of the Q50 and I wish you a very good ‘birthday’ and success for the future,” he said in a congratulatory video message to the production team at Tochigi.

Striking design, a raft of breakthrough technologies such as Direct Adaptive Steering, and unprecedented levels of craftsmanship and performance are the distinctive qualities of the Q50.

For the Malaysian market, the local distributor – Inspired Motor Sdn Bhd has confirmed that they will be introducing the all new Q50 in Malaysia. Hence, stay updated with us.

Renault and Caterham Group announced their partnership to design develop and build sports cars. Accordingly, this agreement reflects a common passion and expertise in sports and motorsports vehicles.

The future vehicles will be distinctive, differentiated, and carry the respective DNA of Alpine and Caterham Cars, the automotive division of Caterham Group. The cars will be built at the Alpine plant in Dieppe, Normandy, in France.

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Renault said, “This innovative partnership with Caterham embodies a longstanding ambition: the creation of a sports car with the Alpine DNA. It carries both opportunities for the Dieppe plant and the development of its historic know-how.”

The Caterham Group will own 50% stake in the Automobiles Alpine Renault company, currently 100% held by Renault SAS. The Société des Automobiles Alpine Caterham, which will be resulting from this partnership, shall be created in January 2013. It will be managed by Bernard Ollivier

This project, which ensures the Dieppe Plant a sustainable future, was made possible thanks to the incentive and to the substantial support and commitment provided by the French State and the Région Haute Normandie which also involved the contribution of Dieppe Maritime.

Caterham Group Chairman, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes commented on this partnership, “I have not felt as excited about a new venture since I launched AirAsia in 2001 and I want to thank Carlos Ghosn and Carlos Tavares and everyone in our new Renault family for having the belief in Caterham Group to create this partnership. Many people doubted us 11 years ago when we launched our airline and I am sure that there will be doubters again this time, but we will not fail your trust. We know the markets we are going into and, particularly in my playground in Asia, there is a huge opportunity to replicate the AirAsia model and give consumers access to exciting, affordable products that marry our interests in F1 and technology and help make their dreams come true.”

Daimler and Nissan will produce Mercedes-Benz 4-cylinder engines together in North America at Nissan’s powertrain assembly plant in Decherd, Tennessee. Production will begin in 2014, with installed capacity of 250,000 units per year once at full capacity. The Decherd facility will produce engines for Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti models.

“This is the newest milestone in our pragmatic collaboration and our most significant project outside of Europe so far,” said Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn. “Localized capacity reduces exposure to foreign exchange rates while rapidly enabling a good business development in North America – a win-win for the Alliance and Daimler.”

The collaboration marks the first production of Mercedes-Benz engines in the North America Free Trade region. The Tennessee plant’s strategic location and logistics links ensure a direct supply of engines starting in 2014 for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, built at Daimler’s vehicle plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“In the context of our Mercedes-Benz 2020 growth strategy, we have decided that we will expand the production capacities required for this close to the customers. Through the strategic extension of our cooperation with Renault-Nissan we can realize near-market engine production in the NAFTA region on attractive economic terms and make optimum use of synergies arising from the cooperation.” Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Daimler Board of Management and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said. “Thus we are systematically broadening our manufacturing footprint in this important growth market.”

Nissan Motor Co. announced a 50 billion Yuan ($7.7 billion) expansion plan for China from 2011 to 2015. It expects to increase sales to 2.3 million vehicles by 2015 from 1.28 million last year. This is also part of a global strategy to focus on faster-growing emerging markets and reduce reliance on the United States.

Nissan did a 50-50 joint venture with its local partner, Dongfeng Group. The company plans to introduce 30 new models by 2015. They include a China-produced electric car to be sold under the low-priced Venucia brand that Nissan Motor Co. is creating for the Chinese market. “China is key to our total growth,” said Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn at a news conference.

Global automakers are looking to China, the biggest auto market by number of vehicles sold, to drive revenue amid weak demand elsewhere. Auto sales in China jumped 32% last year to 18 million vehicles, defying global economic malaise.

Nissan hopes to nearly double its annual sales in China to 2.3 million vehicles by 2015, up from 1.3 million last year, Ghosn said.

The first Venucia model will go on sale at the beginning of 2012. The joint venture said sales of the new model are expected to hit 300,000 a year in 2015.

Kimiyasu Nakamura, president of the joint venture, will also offer Venucia electric cars with an annual production of 50,000 units by 2015. He added that the joint venture will also strengthen its research and development (R&D) capabilities by expanding its R&D staff to 6,000 in 2015 from 3,500 at present.

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Although not many people know how to pronounce the name of this car properly, but the staffs at Nissan Sunderland Plant are celebrating the production of their one millionth Nissan Qashqai. The track records indicated that this car as one of the most successful British-built cars ever.

The landmark vehicle was driven off the production line 4 years, 6 months and 23 days after production began on December 5, 2006. No other UK-built car has reached the million marks in such a short space of time.

The company plans to put the landmark vehicle, a silver 2.0-litre diesel TEKNA Qashqai, on display at The O2 Arena in London and then have one lucky person win the special car. Nissan said it will soon announce further details on the competition.

Moreover, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nissan Motor Co., Carlos Ghosn, announced during a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron that the next version of the Qashqai will be designed, engineered and built in the UK. This will take the total Nissan investment in the UK for Qashqai past £422 million. The Nissan Qashqai is easily the highest-volume car produced in the UK. Future Qashqai production will safeguard the jobs of 6,000 people at Nissan and in the UK supply chain.

Photo Gallery: 2010 Nissan Qashqai

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Photo Gallery: Production of 1 Million Nissan Qashqai

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