UGS, a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, has announced Nissan selected UGS to be the provider of the new global PLM system that Nissan and Nissan affiliates will deploy to design and build its next generation of vehicles. UGS expects the selection to represent its largest win in 2005. Nissan will use UGS' NX CAD software to digitally design its vehicles on a global basis and UGS' Teamcenter collaborative Product Development Management (cPDM) software to digitally manage product data and enable digital prototyping for all Nissan vehicles across the world.

The company will deploy the software as part of a fully integrated, common RandD infrastructure for use inside Nissan.

'Nissan is one of the world's most innovative and successful companies, and UGS is proud to help strengthen its strong automotive industry leadership by providing the new technology foundation for its innovative, knowledge-enabled vehicle development process,' said Tony Affuso, chairman, CEO and president of UGS.

'No other PLM company combines superior technology, ability to scale the product across multiple global sites and proven strength in supporting large global customers, and our expert UGS delivery team is gearing-up to deploy its unmatched track record for customer success on Nissan's behalf.' The selection of UGS follows a multi-year process during which Nissan evaluated CAD systems for the purposes of identifying a standard PLM partner for its three-year business plan 'Value-Up,' which began in April 2005.

Under 'Value-Up,' Nissan has committed to maintain a top level of operating profit margin among global automakers for each of the three years of the plan; achieve global sales of 4.2 million units, measured in fiscal year 2008 and achieve a 20% return on invested capital on average over the course of the plan, excluding cash on hand.

UGS' selection by Nissan strengthens the company's leadership position in providing global CAD and cPDM solutions to manufacturers across industries, including automotive:.

* UGS is the world's leading supplier of combined CAD/cPDM solutions.

* UGS is the CAD market leader in China and emerging Asian markets.

* Among companies with more than 1,000 PDM seats, 90 per cent are using UGS' solutions.

* UGS is the leading vendor of product development solutions in automotive OEMs with 200,000 seats.

'UGS' selection by Nissan represents an inflection point for PLM in the automotive industry.

Of all the major, global automotive corporations that have worked with our firm, and especially in comparison to the top five automotive OEMs, Nissan has applied the most disciplined and structured review of requirements and competitive software alternatives for design and engineering that we have seen,' said Don Brown, chairman, Collaborative Product Development Associates, LLC, a leading PLM industry analyst firm.

'That effort began with a strategic business assessment of the major design platforms.

Nissan applied a highly detailed and rigorous approach in clearly defining and quantifying metrics, which in turn are quite demanding.

'The fact that UGS emerged as the winner speaks volumes to the company's unique ability to combine world-class CAD with world-class PDM.

It is clear that Automotive companies will increasingly demand an open choice in selecting their next generation CAD systems and that a multi-CAD environment will drive the need for greater openness and integration across the supply chain.

UGS is gaining major momentum, and the Nissan selection clearly articulates this to the rest of the industry.'