Tokyo -- Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., announced today that cumulative VQ V6 engine production at its Iwaki plant reached 4 million units in September, almost twelve years since the plant began operations in January 1994.
The VQ V6 engine was first installed in Maxima sedans bound for North America in May 1994. As one of Nissan's mainstay engines, the VQ engine (the lineup ranges from 2.0-liter to 3.5-liter displacement engines) is currently available on 12 models, including the Fuga premium sports sedan and the Fairlady Z sports model (350Z in the U.S. ). The 3.5-liter VQ V6 engine was named to Ward's 10 Best Engines list for the 11th straight year in 2005 and is the only engine that has made the list every year since Ward's Communications, Inc., started presenting the award.
Nissan is currently constructing a second engine facility on the plant's premises at an investment of 10 billion yen. The new facility, which will feature new engine parts processing lines, is due to start operations in the summer of 2006. The new facility will boost the plant's annual production capacity to 560,000 units from 400,000 units at present, enabling Nissan to respond to growing demand under its Nissan Value-Up plan. Under that plan, Nissan aims to boost global sales to 4.2 million units in fiscal year 2008.
The Iwaki plant, which is located in Fukushima prefecture about 200 kilometers north of Tokyo, employees about 700 workers. In fiscal year 2004, ended March 31, 2005, the plant produced about 456,000 units.
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