Nissan Expands Safety Testing with New Lab

Nissan is expanding its Michigan center by adding a new safety lab. The Safety Advancement Lab is a $40 million investment to improve the efficiency of developing safer vehicles. Nissan has a goal to reach almost zero deaths with its models.

Safety Advancement Lab

With the addition of the onsite lab, Nissan will be able to provide full crash testing for all of its models. The auto manufacturer will also provide certification for those models deemed safest. Advanced testing will be conducted at the lab for new systems or improvements to current systems.

With 116,000 square feet of space, engineers will have plenty of room to conduct their testing. They will be able to recreate 48 simulations of crash situations involving passive safety. This state-of-the-art facility includes high-speed photography systems to capture these tests in real-time.

An individual lab for calibrating dummies will be located within the center with another lab dedicated to pedestrian safety. The facility will also house an area for preparing vehicles for testing and a vehicle tow system.

The Move to Electric

Nissan has been a leader in electric vehicles ever since it first developed the Nissan LEAF, which debuted in 2010. Today, the manufacturer is dedicated to seeing 40 percent of sales in the US be for EV models by 2030. The lab will move Nissan forward in its goal with the ability to test high-voltage EV batteries.

While Nissan continues to develop new safety systems that partner with the driver to prevent accidents, the focus in this lab will be on passive safety. The goal is to prevent passengers from sustaining injuries even when an accident does happen. Engineers will evaluate passive safety systems, such as seatbelts, airbags, and the structure of the vehicle.

Nissan Technical Center North America

NTCNA is the Nissan center in Michigan, which develops numerous Nissan models for the US along with INFINITI models. Some of these models include the Titan, LEAF, Pathfinder, Maxima, Sentra, Frontier, Rogue, and Altima. The center also tests Nissan ProPILOT Assist and the LEAF e-Pedal.

Over 1200 employees work at NTCNA, which is the main R&D location for Nissan in North and South America. With the added safety lab, the investment for Nissan in this center is up to more than $310 million since its opening in 1991.

Nissan Safety

Nissan has always put safety first with the development of many systems, which are standard or available on all its models. The manufacturer continues to be recognized for its dedication to safety with the 2020 Top Safety Pick+ for the 2021 Nissan Altima while the 2021 Nissan Sentra took home the 2020 Top Safety Pick. Both of these models received awards for their advancement in headlight technology.

Nissan also features Safety Shield 360 for its models, which is a suite of six systems that work together to keep you safe. They include:

• Rear automatic braking
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection
• Lane departure warning
• Blindspot warning
• High beam assist

To see Nissan models in action or find out more about Intelligent Mobility, stop by Premier Nissan of Fremont and check out the last cars, trucks, and SUVs.