TOKYO (December 20, 2007) – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that its Oppama Plant reached the 15 millionth units milestone on December 19, 2007, forty-six years after the plant’s inauguration. The 15 millionth unit – a Tiida hatchback - was bound for the African market.
| Oppama Plant Opening Ceremony in 1961 (vehicle: Cedric model 30) |
Tiida HB (GOM model) |
The Oppama Plant commenced its operations in 1961 as the first full-scale passenger vehicle plant in Japan. The plant was the first to utilize welding robots in 1970, a revolution for the industry at the time. It was one of the earliest plants to introduce mixed production lines which enabled several different vehicles to be built at the same time on the same line. Today, the Oppama Plant is recognized as one of the most automated passenger vehicle plants in the world.
The Oppama Plant reached its 5 millionth and 10 millionth milestones in 1978 and 1992, respectively. It currently builds seven models - March, Cube, Cube Cubic, Tiida, Tiida Latio, Note and Bluebird Sylphy.
The plant complex includes the Oppama Wharf, which handles the shipment of up to 80,000 vehicles per month, as well as the Nissan Research Center, Global Training Center, and GRANDRIVE proving ground.
The Oppama Plant has fully adopted the Nissan Production Way (NPW) and is currently implementing its ‘‘Oppama Challenge’’ initiative with the aim to further improve quality, productivity and delivery time reduction.
"This 15 millionth milestone is attributed to the collective efforts of our employees, suppliers and local business partners. At Oppama Plant, we continually endeavor to meet the goals of our ‘‘Oppama Challenge’’, to deliver higher quality vehicles to customers on scheduled delivery times," said Hidetoshi Imazu, Executive Vice President of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
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