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User Guide

Chinese OEMs Accelerating New Vehicle Development (3)

Japanese OEMs advance local development in China: Toyota and Nissan revamp development processes

2026/11/09

Summary
1. Are only Chinese companies fast? Dongfeng Nissan's N7 and GAC-Toyota's bZ3X
2. Japanese OEMs also move to shorten development cycles to 30 months: Nissan's family-based development
3. How to approach shortening the development period

Summary

In Part 1 “New car development time reduced to 20 months: How Geely and Chery are shortening development cycles” and Part 2 “How to achieve a 20-month development cycle: Development process reforms led by Chinese OEMs” of this series, we discussed the moves by Chinese automakers to shorten new vehicle development timelines and the underlying changes in their development processes. In the cases of Geely (Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd.) and Chery (Chery Automobile Co., Ltd.), development workloads were reduced by getting an early start on styling and technical validation and by sharing common platforms. Conversely, the cases of GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd.) and BYD (BYD Co., Ltd.) showed that interdepartmental collaboration, faster decision-making, and parallelized processes are also important factors in shortening timelines. Although each company takes a different approach, they share a common trend: not only improving the efficiency of individual processes, but also reexamining the way development activities themselves are carried out.

This report (Part 3) examines whether these changes are also spreading to vehicle development conducted by Japanese OEMs. The development organizations and technology foundations of Toyota bZ4X, GAC-Toyota bZ3X, and Dongfeng Nissan N7 will be compared and the roles of local development organizations and suppliers in the Chinese market will be examined. In addition, the report examines Nissan’s efforts to shorten development cycles and pursue family-based development, and consider how the acceleration of new vehicle development should be understood through case studies from various companies.

* This report analyzes the shortening of new vehicle development timelines and changes in the development process based on materials published by the various companies, statements by executives, and information gathered through interviews. Details regarding the development schedules and design and validation procedures for individual vehicle models are described only to the extent covered by information that has been made public.

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