The Masters Who Gave Life to Nissan ARIYA #03

Engineering Monster will deliver the essence of Nissan’s technology by interviewing the engineers who participated in the development of “Nissan ARIYA,” which symbolizes “Nissan Intelligent Mobility.” We will also deliver the behind-the-scenes of the development that created innovative technology and the DNA of Nissan that breathes in “Nissan ARIYA” as original content.

This time, Hikaru Nakajima, Chief Vehicle Engineer who developed a new EV dedicated platform and led the development of “Nissan ARIYA”, will talk about the Nissan-ness incorporated in “Nissan ARIYA”.

What CVE should do is to deliver the unique value of Nissan's new EVs to customers.

I love cars since I was a student, and I especially admired the hot driving of the "ATTESA", a full-time 4WD system installed in the U12 Bluebird.

When I joined Nissan, my first job was to design mufflers. After that, I was assigned to the suspension design of Skyline V35-V37 and other models. Then, about 4 and a half years ago from today, I was involved in the advanced development of an EV-dedicated platform as Chief Chassis Engineer. Now, I have been coordinating the development of Nissan ARIYA since I became Chief Vehicle Engineer (CVE) 2 and a half years ago.

Nissan ARIYA as the model built with a new EV-dedicated platform is just like drawing picture lines on a completely white canvas. It was very difficult to shape a new electric vehicle to what the new EV should be like in this context, and to fuse Nissan-ness driving style with the high-quality premium EV.

To give one example, a premium SUV with a spacious cabin and a flat EV-like floor are indispensable. A strong, modern design based on the theme of "Timeless Japanese Futurism" is also an absolute must for Nissan ARIYA. To achieve this, it was extremely difficult to fit the powertrain and various other units into the limited space, and also to consider how to distribute the forces to protect people inside and outside a car just in case of a car accident. We had countless discussions with our engineers in charge of the platform, body, powertrain, etc., and made so many elaborate adjustments.

There was even a discussion on extending the front overhang by a few dozen millimeters but we did not because if we had compromised on this, it would diminish the value of ARIYA, including its design. As the person in charge of the development of Nissan ARIYA, what I had to do was to deliver the unique value of new Nissan EV to our customers. To achieve this, I took on difficult development challenges.

This is fusion of advanced technologies and chassis as a foundation of cars at a high level.

I always wanted to build a car as a CVE one day ever since I started working on suspension design. However, I was rather confused than happy when I was told about becoming CVE for Nissan ARIYA.

Because Nissan ARIYA is an iconic model that incorporates a variety of Nissan's advanced technologies and shows the direction of Nissan in the future. I wondered if I, who had only experience in chassis design, would be able to coordinate such a car. Then I remembered what someone said to me when we started development of ProPilot, an advanced driver assistance technology. "In order to realize advanced automated driving, the car must be able to drive precisely according to the instructions derived by the system based on various sensing technologies. To achieve this, excellent chassis performance is crucial".

For customers to relax while ProPilot 2.0 is activated, the car must stay in the center of the lane and turn precisely as autonomous drive system steers. If the response is delayed or wobbles even slightly, it will be impossible to entrust the driving of the system. Even if the motor can provide a quiet ride, if vibrations and noise are transmitted into the cabin during driving, the comfort of the driver will be reduced by half. Developing a superior chassis is not something that can be done overnight. It can only be achieved with the knowledge we have gained through our long history of car manufacturing.

I believe that it means for me to be CVE for Nisan ARIYA is to make fusion at a high level happen between the advanced technologies incorporated in Nissan ARIYA and the chassis, foundation of cars.

The mission of developers is to define how cars will be used in the future and the relationship between people and cars, and to lead customers and society toward this goal.

In the development of Nissan ARIYA as a pioneer of EVs, I had no intention of compromising its EV-related performance, such as charging performance, cruising range, and e-4ORCE.

I, as an engineer who has been involved in chassis development for a long time, believe that “We cannot call it “Nissan car” unless it drives well". So when I became CVE for Nissan ARIYA, I decided to design the EV that provides a premium Nissan experience as the culmination of my work.

I would like Nissan ARIYA to make our customers feel "ARIYA is great!" just by driving it for 300m.
Specifically, I would like them to feel a quiet moment, and room lights gently enveloping the customer. Then, when they step on the accelerator, Nissan ARIYA starts to drive quietly and smoothly. I believe this is the most important thing for both EVs and premium cars. Another was to create a car that offers the sporty driving experience that only Nissan can deliver.

The article is from its original version released on 9 October 2020.