Nissan Found 1600 Ways To Cut Costs Including Your Headrests And Headlamp Beams

• Nissan’s 3,000-person team found 1,600 cost-cutting ideas in 3 months.
• Headrest variety may shrink after factory inefficiencies were identified.
• Despite the measures, it insists that it isn’t “de-contenting” its vehicles.

Cutting costs has become a top priority at Nissan, and the company isn’t treating it as a minor adjustment. Not only is it closing several of its global factories and reducing the output of others, it has also assembled a team of 3,000 employees focused specifically on finding ways to slash costs in its models. In three months, they have generated 4,000 cost-cutting ideas, roughly 1,600 of which have already been deemed as feasible.

Also: Nissan Is Dropping The Ariya EV In America After 2025

Heading up the new team is Tatsuzo Tomita, who has been dubbed the “cost-cutting czar” by media outlets. One of the first targets has been something as simple as headrests. According to Tonita who spoke to Autonews, parts for them are currently stored at a supplier warehouse, covering an area of approximately two tennis courts. He says that each day, employees have to walk as many as 30,000 steps just to retrieve them. If Nissan reduces the variety of headrests it offers, it could reduce this space by half.

Trimming excess in design

The money-saving measures don’t stop there. Nissan’s headlights currently project a wider beam than the industry norm. By narrowing the spread and adopting lower-specification units, the company believes it can eliminate many of the bespoke parts it relies on and instead switch to standardized components already used by other manufacturers.

Additionally, Nissan has identified that the dyes it uses for seat textiles have been designed to resist fading in sunlight, but as the glass in its current models already blocks ultraviolet light, it can switch to less expensive dyes.

Other plans focus on how parts make their way into cars in the first place. Auto News reports that Nissan may begin pre-assembling certain components before shipping them to its plants, cutting down on logistics costs. Sourcing is also under review, with a potential shift toward more Chinese suppliers who can deliver at lower prices.

No shortcuts for customers, says Nissan

Tomita says that Nissan is coming up with its cost-cutting measures in partnership with suppliers. All suggestions that could impact customer-facing components or content are thoroughly reviewed before being approved, with Tomita insisting that Nissan isn’t “de-contenting,” and won’t cheapen its models.

According to Nissan’s money-saving czar, costs and parts complexity spiraled as the company pursued higher volumes and offered a broad array of specifications to capture all niches.

“We made too many price variations and too many Nissan-unique specifications,” he says. “And in each of the silos, each division came up with their own standards or processes and key performance indicators. Now, in this rapidly changing environment, we have not been able to make swift decisions. So that is the biggest challenge Nissan has been facing.”

Even EVs under review

The belt-tightening extends to Nissan’s electric lineup. The company confirmed Thursday that the Ariya will be phased out after 2025, part of a wider rethink of its product strategy as it tries to reshape the range for efficiency and profitability before it’s too late for the troubled automaker.

The Auto World