Nissan says AI tools could nearly halve vehicle development times. New Skyline was reportedly developed in just 26 months instead of 55. The automaker aims to match China’s pace as sales recovery continues. Automakers have long bragged about design, engineering perfection, and quality. But more and more, speed is becoming the way that brands compete. We’re not talking about the track either. Speed in the development process is how these companies stand out and, when done right, get ahead of rivals. Now, Nissan says it’s adopting lessons from Chinese automakers to get a leg up. And we’ll see the proof in the next Skyline much sooner because of it. Read: Nissan’s Next Z Depends On A GT-R That Doesn’t Exist Yet According to a report from Nikkei, Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa says the company’s goal is to bring new vehicles to market in roughly 30 months. The first real-world example will be the next-generation Skyline, which is expected to debut this winter after just 26 months of development. That’s a dramatic reduction from the 55 months required for the current model. Americans won’t get the Nissan Skyline by name, but they’ll get the same car wearing an Infiniti badge on the hood. Nissan has seen the benefits firsthand through its partnership with Dongfeng in China. Development of the Dongfeng Nissan N7 electric sedan reportedly took only two years, about half the time Nissan would have traditionally required. “A big part of this is built on AI capabilities and the utilization of new tools, more digital tools in the design phase, in the testing phase, in the manufacturing phase,” Espinosa said. “China is as of now setting the industry standards of the future in terms of technology, in terms of cost competitiveness, and in terms of development time.” It’s easy to see why Nissan would want to leverage these lessons globally. The automaker’s global sales fell 6 percent to 3.15 million vehicles last fiscal year, while Japanese sales dropped 13 percent. Espinosa believes part of the problem stems from reputational damage and a lack of compelling new products. Let’s not forget that it wasn’t too long ago that the brand was reportedly working on Nissan merging with Honda and Mitsubishi before talks fell through. It now hopes to reverse that trend with an aggressive product offensive that includes seven launches in roughly a year, a revived Skyline, new SUVs and pickups, and eventually a next-generation GT-R. If Nissan can combine Chinese-style speed with the driving dynamics and heritage enthusiasts expect from models like the Skyline and GT-R, it may finally have a roadmap back to the relevance that made it so popular in decades past.
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