Nissan Motor has completed construction of a new US$40m Safety Advancement Lab at its Nissan Technical Center North America in Michigan.
The new facility will allow the Japanese automaker to carry out safety tests on vehicles more efficiently, speeding up the vehicle development process and moving the company closer to “a future with virtually zero fatalities” concept.
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The new 116,000 sq ft Safety Advancement Lab gives Nissan onsite capability to conduct full vehicle crash testing, vehicle certification, advanced development testing and benchmarking. It allows the company to carry out 48 separate passive safety crash test simulations onsite, creating efficiencies in timing and results analysis.
The facility is equipped with high-speed photography systems, data acquisition equipment, a precise vehicle tow system, test dummy calibration and pedestrian safety labs and facilities that evaluate the integrity of high-voltage electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Chris Reed, regional senior vice-president of research and development at Nissan Americas, said in a statement: “This expansion underscores Nissan’s commitment to the region and enables us to be a global centre of excellence for new vehicle testing. The goal of virtually zero fatalities is always guiding our work. The combination of this new lab plus our passive and active safety technologies can help us reach that goal”.
