Nissan seeks to learn from Chinese supplier strategies as part of cost

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) -Nissan Motor is studying the cost competitiveness of Chinese suppliers and exploring ways to apply their practices globally, as it aims to cut variable costs by 250 billion yen ($1.71 billion) in a broad efficiency drive, a senior executive said.

Tatsuzo Tomita, Nissan’s chief of total delivered cost transformation, said the Japanese automaker was drawing lessons from its Chinese suppliers’ use of standard parts and their close collaboration with designers.

“We’ve gained access to Chinese-style ways of working, and my current challenge is figuring out how to apply those methods to parts for our current and upcoming vehicles,” Tomita told reporters at Nissan’s head office in Yokohama on Wednesday.

As part of its ongoing turnaround plan that includes cutting abo