Nissan’s new ‘Family Strategy’ aims to produce five SUVs in two years

Shortly after posting profitability, Nissan unveiled its latest recovery effort. According to Nikkei Asia, the brand will soon adopt a ‘Family Strategy’ that will optimize the development and production of new models.

As the name suggests, the strategy will streamline development by grouping vehicles into families, within which technology and engineering are shared. Ultimately, this effort should speed up production, as Nissan aims to mimic the pace of Chinese carmakers.

PHOTO BY Nissan

Currently, the turnaround time for a new vehicle typically takes 50 months, or about four years. But under the Family Strategy, the timetable shortens to 37 months for cars that require new platforms and 30 months for nameplates that will use existing components.

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Interestingly, a separate report from MotorTrend could suggest that the first family under this new framework may be a roster of five SUVs for the North American market. Earlier this year, the Xterra revival was confirmed, but its new platform could actually sprout four more products.

PHOTO BY Nissan

These would be an all-new Pathfinder, the next-generation Frontier (or Navara, locally), and two more SUVs for Nissan’s premium brand, Infiniti. Sadly, that also means the Philippines will probably not see any of these nameplates, as they will all be assembled in the United States.

However, if the Family Strategy works out, it will likely be adopted across Nissan’s global manufacturing network. In China, Nissan Dongfeng’s vehicle development is already up to speed, and the strategy could further expand the plug-in hybrid Navaro Pro and the fully electric Primera into other vehicles.

Mixing and matching powertrains and platforms isn’t anything new, but a big product offensive from Nissan could further propel the company into a more established state. As the strategy is still in its infancy, we’ll keep an eye out for the first family that rolls out. More as we get it.

PHOTO BY Nissan