Nissan Pressuring Supplier to Fix CVT Problems
Nissan has been dealing with widespread complaints about its new XTronic continuously variable transmission (CVT) that is fitted in many of its small cars, and as result the company is introducing new more stringent inspection methods.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn singled out the problem supplier as Jatco, a company that Nissan owns a 75 percent stake in. “Every time you launch a new CVT you always have some risks,” Ghosn said last month. “So we now have a process by which, before we launch any new CVT, they [Jatco] come before the Nissan executive committee to explain all the measures they have taken to make sure there are no surprises.”
Jatco claims that the part of the issue is customers who are inexperienced with its CVTs, and don’t understand what to expect from a CVT. Nissan’s entire small car lineup uses the Jatco supplied CVT, and production worldwide is set to ramp up for Nissan, placing even more pressure on Jatco to get it right.
In response, Carlos Ghosn is reassigning Bill Krueger, Nissan’s most senior North American manufacturing and supply chain executive, to vice-president of Jatco.
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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