Nissan to share design and development of electrified powertrains with JATCO

Nissan today announced it will share part of its electrified powertrain design and development operations with JATCO Ltd, one of its affiliates. Nissan has positioned electrification at the core of its business strategy, and the move will enable Nissan to strengthen its engineering capabilities to meet the growing demand for electrified powertrains.

In November 2021, Nissan announced Nissan Ambition 2030, its long-term vision. The vision includes plans to introduce 23 new electrified models — including 15 EVs by fiscal year 2030 — aiming for an electrified model mix of more than 50% globally.

Takashi Hata, senior vice-president of the Affiliated Company Administration Department and Global Asset Management said, “Making electrified powertrains lighter and more efficient is an essential part of our electrification strategy, and we greatly look forward to JATCO’s contribution. Nissan and JATCO will continue to strengthen cooperation.”

JATCO sets up new R&D centre
JATCO, in order to assist in handling the sudden increase in demand for electrified powertrains, has strengthened its electrified powertrain development framework, and will be in charge of a portion of the design and development work for Nissan’s electrified powertrains. In addition to its current ATs and CVTs, JATCO will contribute in the field of electrified powertrains with regards to Nissan’s electrification strategy.

JATCO will enhance its electrified powertrain technologies, and in combination with the technologies it has cultivated over years of AT and CVT development, production, and vehicle integration, strengthen its electrified powertrain design and development frameworks in order to provide ever more competitive electrified powertrain units. As part of these efforts, JATCO’s Zama R&D Center (Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture) has been established to handle the new electrified powertrain experimentation work.

Given this strengthening, JATCO’s VP of R&D, Kohichi Takemoto, said: “The demand for electrified powertrains is expected to further increase with the continuing electrification of automobiles. JATCO will enhance its electrified powertrain development ability, and by combining this with the gear-train technologies it has gained from its CVT products, develop highly competitive products in regards to electrified powertrains as well, and contribute to the advancement of Nissan’s electrification strategy.”

Headquartered in Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan, JATCO is a leading automotive transmission and EV powertrain manufacturer, specialised in the design, development, and manufacture of automatic transmissions and CVTs. In addition to plants in Japan, JATCO has production facilities in Mexico, China, and Thailand.