Toshikazu KishimotoToshikazu Kishimoto
General Manager, Engineering IS Department, Global IS Division
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Mr. Toshikazu Kishimoto is the general manager of the engineering IS department in the global IS division of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. Mr. Kishimoto joined Nissan in 1976 as part of the engineering IS department before moving on to the information systems department of the Nissan Research & Development Company from 1988 to 1992. Mr. Kishimoto then served at the Nissan Technical College to provide education and training to engineers and technicians from 1993 to 1996. Mr. Kishimoto attended the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan where he received his degree in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics.

Abstract

SHIFT_Vehicle Development - Power of VPD

Nissan’s mid-term business plan, NISSAN Value Up, calls for releasing as many as 28 new vehicles and providing customers with high-quality products incorporating the latest designs and technology. To successfully achieve the goal of this business plan, Nissan is now shifting from the conventional development based on physical confirmation to a new vehicle development process relying on a digital study, virtual product development (VPD). NOTE is the first VPD model and was released in January 2005. VPD helped Nissan significantly reduce the number of design changes, speed up development time, and improve the product quality of the NOTE model. The NOTE development clearly proved the power of VPD.