News

Australia - CAST technology supports Nissan's new electric car.

Issued at 2011-05-23



Components for Nissan’s new zero emissions, all electric LEAF vehicle will be made in Australia. Nissan Casting Australia Pty Ltd has secured a $21 million global contract to manufacture the components and credited the company’s success to new casting technologies developed in Australia by CAST and the CSIRO, in consultation with Nissan.

Nissan Australia CEO, Dan Thompson said: “Our local expertise, our quality and the competitiveness of local resources and services were factors influencing the decision.”

“The success in winning the contracts speaks highly of the investment Nissan has made in the manufacturing technology at Dandenong and in Australia’s ability to compete and win at a global industrial level.”

Nissan Casting Australia is expected to produce 22,000 electric vehicle components per month by late 2013. The cast aluminium components include an inverter case, inverter water jacket and water jacket cover. 

The projected total local investment of $21m in sustainable, zero emission technology will support 150 existing jobs and eventually produce $160m in export revenue. The investment includes $3.3m from the Green Car Innovation Fund and support from the Victorian government’s Business Assistance Grant.

George Collins, CEO of CAST, believes that it is the long term relationship between Nissan and Australian researchers that has led to this achievement. “Nissan was one of the founding partners of the original CAST Cooperative Research Centre in 1993 and has been a strong supporter of innovative ideas, devoting time on the production line to trial prototypes and being one of the first diecasters to adopt new technology,” he said. “Nissan Casting is one of the leading diecasting companies in Australia and is also one of the top suppliers within Nissan’s global network of casting plants.”

Nissan Casting has been working with CAST for many years developing technologies to improve their business. These technologies now form an integral part of the plant’s operations. 

The LEAF is the first all-electric car designed for mass production and was named European Car of the Year in 2011. It will be available in Australia in mid-2012. It is the world’s first car to be powered by new generation lithium-ion batteries and is already on sale in the US, Japan and the UK.

Nissan Casting Australia is a Dandenong-based automotive component manufacturer and a founding member of CAST, a collaboration between industry, researchers and the government that is funded under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres program. CAST conducts industry-driven research in metals technology. www.cast.org.au

 


Source: Foundry Trade Journal



Related News