Plans for turbochargers

Press, 4 March 1982, Page 21

Plans for turbochargers

The Nissan Motor Company. manufacturers of Datsun, has decided to set up its own plant producing turbocharged passenger cars. Customer acceptance of Nissan’s many turbocharged models has been very good, says Datsun, with the combination of high performance and improved fuel economy winning many new cus’tomers. Total Japanese sales of turbocharged vehicles had reached 14,000 a month by last August, with Nissan getting close to 75 per cent of all sales. The turbochargers that have been used by Nissan to date have been made by the American suppliers Normal-air-Garrett. But the company has now established the production technology acauired to make the centre housing, the compressor housing and the turbine and impellor blades. The forging, machining and assembly of the Nissan-produced turbocharger will be done at a : Yokohama-based assembly plant where the company has already invested $ll million in production equipment. Initial production will be approximately 7000 units a

month with the first “allNissan” turbocharged car leaving the production line in May. In New Zealand a turbocharged Bluebird has already been imported for evaluation purposes and the company will be doing further testing in this year’s Motogard New Zealand International Rally with Team Nissan’s Bluebird Turbo driven by Reg Cook. of Auckland.