NAIAS Press Conference January 15, 2018
José MuñozChief Performance Officer (CPO) Chairman of Management Committee for North America (MC NA)
Good morning and welcome to the future of Nissan. It’s my pleasure to introduce a new concept vehicle that embodies our vision and commitment to Nissan Intelligent Mobility.
This is the Xmotion (Cross Motion) Concept, a highly advanced crossover that fuses American utility with Japanese craftsmanship and modern technology.
Related:
Nissan unveils Xmotion concept at 2018 North American International Auto Show
It signals the start of a bold new direction for Nissan in the C-SUV segment.
Now, I know what you may be thinking. Nissan has already shaken up this critical segment.
With award-winning, best-selling products like Rogue and Rogue Sport, Qashqai, and Kicks, we’ve clearly figured out how to give C-SUV customers around the world what they want.
We are proud of the passion and expertise we’ve brought to this segment…and the success we’ve achieved.
But as the Xmotion Concept makes this clear, we are just getting started.
In a few moments, Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan’s Senior Vice President for Global Design, will share the Xmotion’s design story and discuss some of its key features.
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But, first, let me tell you why I’m so excited about this vehicle.
This dynamic crossover, with advanced autonomous drive capabilities, represents the start of a new era for Nissan.
In fact, it provides a blueprint for what you can expect from our forthcoming C-SUV line-up, and from future Nissan Intelligent Mobility-enabled products.
These vehicles are the cornerstone of our mid-term plan.
Let me tell you about this plan, which we call “Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022.”
It has two main objectives:
To achieve sustainable growth while ensuring healthy profitability and solid free cash flow.
And to lead the automotive industry in new technologies and business expansion, backed by Nissan’s technology DNA.
Solid performance gains in our main markets – including here in the U.S. –will be key in achieving sustainable growth.
I’m pleased that our U.S. operations are strong and continue to gain momentum.
This is not only driven by great products.
It’s also a direct result of our significant investments.
Over the past 30 years, Nissan has invested more than $11 billion dollars in our U.S. operations.
To date, we’ve produced more than 15 million vehicles and 10 million engines in America. And we now have four U.S. plants.
Nissan’s facility in Smyrna, Tennessee, is the largest, highest volume vehicle assembly plant in all of North America and the source of more than 8,000 jobs.
Nationwide, we directly employ more than 22,000 team members and support tens of thousands of jobs at Nissan and Infiniti dealerships and supplier companies.
This foundation has allowed Nissan to create our industry-leading line-up of crossovers, trucks and sedans here in the U.S., including the best-selling Rogue, TITAN, Pathfinder, and Altima.
As a result, 2017 was another record year for the Nissan Group in the U.S., with more than 1.5 million vehicles sold and market share reaching 9.2%.
To accelerate our progress, this summer, we will begin selling the new Nissan Kicks.
This will enhance Nissan’s presence in the growing compact crossover segment.
Now, I said our plan had two goals.
The second is to lead the technology and business evolution that’s underway.
Our technology leadership will be rooted in Nissan Intelligent Mobility, our push to move people to a better world by delivering vehicles with more autonomy, more electrification, and more connectivity.
One advantage we bring to the table is our Alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors, which is one of the top automotive groups in the world.
The Alliance is accelerating the development of new technologies that will benefit customers and communities worldwide.
Already, we have taken some exciting steps forward.
In terms of autonomous drive, the Rogue is the first vehicle in the U.S. equipped with Nissan’s ProPILOT Assist Technology.
With ProPILOT Assist, the vehicle can help control its speed as well as its distance from other vehicles and center itself in a single lane while on the highway.
Nissan ProPILOT Assist lays the foundation for future autonomous driving technologies.
Already, Nissan has sold 75,000 vehicles with ProPILOT technology.
That means that Nissan has more semi-autonomous vehicles on the road than any other mass-market carmaker.
We expect this number to grow significantly over the next four years, as we expand it to more vehicles in Japan, the U.S., Europe and China.
By 2022, Nissan will offer ProPILOT technologies on all core models.
Our focus on delivering greater – and, someday, full – autonomy is exciting.
And it goes hand-in-hand with our electrification efforts, which I want to briefly mention.
As you know, Nissan launched the EV in 2010 with the pioneering, first-generation LEAF.
Since then, we’ve sold more than 300,000 EVs worldwide.
Going forward, we see EVs at the heart of future Nissan line-ups.
We have some innovative new EVs in the pipeline, starting with the all-new LEAF that goes on sale in the U.S. this month.
It’s clear that customers are excited. We have more than 13,000 reservations in the U.S.
And, since the new LEAF launched in Japan last October,LEAF orders, over the last four months, have already matched the total number of LEAFs sold during all of last year.
So, we’re confident the new LEAF will help to maintain our global leadership position in the EV segment.
Lastly, I want to mention connectivity, which we call, “Intelligent Integration,” which connects our vehicles to society.
Today, our vehicles communicate through NissanConnect Services and with apps like Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto.
In addition, through Vehicle to Home and Vehicle to Grid technologies, which will be progressively introduced, our EV customers will be able to manage their own energy consumption.
Even as Nissan moves to lead the technology revolution, there’s one more thing that won’t change.
We will continue to make significant, strategic investments in our U.S. operations.
This market will fuel our growth and inspire some of the most advanced, most exciting products in Nissan’s future.
The new Xmotion Concept offers a glimpse into this future.
And I hope you’ll take some time today to check it out and see for yourself why we’re so excited about this new era of mobility.
Now, to tell you more about the Xmotion Concept, it’s my pleasure to turn things over to my colleague and friend, Alfonso Albaisa.
Alfonso AlbaisaSenior Vice President of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Global Design
Thank you, Jose.
New breakthrough technologies are now in our hands – innovations that inspire new shapes, new thinking and new expressions.
Building on our momentum from the IMX Concept Car in Tokyo with Xmotion, we want to show the more rugged and adventurous spirit ofNissan Intelligent Mobility.
One that is more robust and protected but is also more refined and connected.
Xmotion is part of a broader revolution to move our customers to a better world through a diverse lineup of vehicles, including crossovers and SUVs.
For designers, it is now about seamlessly connecting our customers through technology to all of the wonderful things in their lives.
Design mirrors society.
So our collective shift towards more autonomy, more electrification, and more connectivity guides the shapes of our vehicles.
So in designing the Xmotion, we wrapped the passenger cocoon with a structural shell.
We show the simple structure of the vehicle in a dynamic – yet simple design language.
As we leap forward with these wonderful technologies, we have also returned to the roots of our company and our home country of Japan.
We drew inspiration from the timeless Japanese aesthetics and craftsmanship, which have been passed down through generations.
In our journey through the design process, we were inspired by Japanese concepts to find simplicity so we could keep the focus on the human experience.
More than 100 years of ingenuity is driving us into the future.
Why don’t I take you on a tour, starting with the outside.
The outer skin was inspired by pewter alloys of Japanese craftsmanship.
It’s strong and elegant, providing a protective armor shell around our passengers.
Coming around the front, you can appreciate the intricate detailing of the V-motion movement.
The grille textures and the iconic boomerang headlamps, which artistically interlock with the front fenders coming around the side, you can see the unique u-shaped body structure that encapsulates the passenger compartment in a protective and striking way.
Here again you can see how we were inspired by our Japanese history.
About 400 years ago, a new modernism swept Japan, giving more people access to objects that were smart and simple at a first glance but intricately designed when seen closer.
We were inspired by this sense of discovery.
As a result, the Xmotion is powerful and simple at a glance, but when you get closer you can see aspects of design density – like the red accent of the roof layer which is protected by a metal body that is powerful and pure.
Coming around the back, you can see how we had a little fun with the layered-nuanced tail lamps, inspired by the warm wood patterns of Japanese “KU-MIKI.”
Now, let’s take a look at the interior.
With the doors open, you can see how we balanced craftsmanship with technology. You can see how our customers’ desire to be connected to their data – opened the doors to our own digital art.
The interior space looks like a landscape.
The center console symbolizes a wooden bridge connecting two cultures -but also bridging timeless tradition with tomorrow’s technology.
The color scheme uses scarlet, white and black to represent power, purity and intensity.
The design of the headrest provides comfort and support, while embedded speakers enhance the experience even more with surround sound technology.
The instrument panel is made of Japanese cedar, giving a modern interpretation to centuries old aesthetics.
The beautifully unique Graphic User Interface is designed for the human in all of us by intuitively and artistically connecting the vehicle’s entertainment and autonomous information.
It puts powerful technology at your fingertips – technology that is designed to make your life easier and your journeys more exciting and enjoyable.
So the Xmotion expresses our dream for the SUV and the crossover in the next chapter of Nissan Intelligent Mobility.
It brings craftsmanship to the high-tech environment, while preserving a sense of humanity in our modern world.
It is tough and strong, simple and purposeful, and delivers a drive that is more exciting than ever before, including autonomous city driving.
This is our vision for the future of crossovers and SUVs, a future that will be here much sooner than you think.
With that, I would like to thank my Global Design team at Nissan, and especially our Executive Design Director, Tai-san, who is helping to lead us into the future.
Thank you very much.