Nissan to open design studio in China
Nissan Motor Co. will open an auto design studio in Beijing next year to better reflect the tastes of Chinese as well as Asian consumers in new model development, said a source with Nissan (China) Investment Co.
Scheduled to open in Beijing's Chaoyang District in early 2011, the new studio will become Nissan's fifth design facility worldwide. It will also be the first design facility ever established by a Japanese automaker in China.
The new studio will have 20 designers. Nissan plans to invest 11.76 million yuan ($1.72 million) in the facility.
Nissan currently has two design centers in Japan (Atsugi and Harajuku), one in the United States (San Diego, California) and one in the United Kingdom (London).
In 2009, Nissan for the first time ever outsold Toyota and Honda to become the top selling Japanese brand in China. Combined Nissan and Infiniti sales last year reached 756,000 units, a jump of 39 percent from 2008, according to Nissan (China) Investment Co.
Of Nissan's 2009 China sales, 518,968 units were passenger vehicles and 231,676 units were light commercial vehicles and light trucks.
