“We don’t want to imitate our competitors. We want to be the first to invent new technologies,” says Hiroyuki Tanabe, engineer and director of one of Honda’s many R&D departments.
In its ongoing quest for outright leadership in the market, Honda grants its engineers a high degree of autonomy. “Not so long ago, people said that it was impossible to make a robot walk like a human being. One day, one of our engineers went to see the Vice-President of R&D to tell him that he wanted to do it. He was given carte blanche. And today, we have achieved our goal with the Asimo robot,” says William De Braekeleer, head of Public Relations at Honda Europe.
The Asimo robot may not have anything to do with cars, but Honda believes that you have to give creators the chance to express themselves. Winning the innovation race comes at a price, but it is a price worth paying. In 2000, Honda became the first car manufacturer to develop a hybrid vehicle that reduced CO2 emissions, long before the issue was popularized by the likes of Al Gore and Nicolas Hulot.
An industry that’s going places
Meanwhile, Toyota has the luxury of looking back at the competition through its rear-view mirror. The Japanese firm recently overtook General Motors in terms of worldwide sales. Over 50% of cars made by Japanese manufacturers are destined for foreign markets, a unique phenomenon in the industry. But if there is a risk of fatigue, it is because these manufacturers occupy a specific place in an industry which is often tempted to eschew innovation in favour of the more conservative 4x4 market.
This autumn’s Tokyo Motor Show – which will be marking its 40th anniversary this year – bears witness to the inventiveness which characterises the Japanese car industry. “In terms of top end products and the presentation of technological breakthroughs, the Tokyo Motor Show is a world-leading event. Participants at this year’s show in October will once again demonstrate just how true this is,” says Shigeru Sasaki, Managing Director of the Technical Department of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association (Jama), the body organising the show.
Japan is recognised by the entire industry as the capital of innovation. Technological advances rapidly become very technical; technologies are often exploited by the competition as soon as they become genuinely innovative. But in spite of this, Japan leads the way in automotive innovation, with its manufacturers focusing on improvements to telematics, safety features, and green technologies.
Generally speaking, Japanese manufacturers equip their vehicles with more advanced GPS systems than their competitors: veritable computers connected to the internet, rather than files downloaded from CD-ROMs. Internet connectivity makes it possible to offer more than a mere road map. Restaurants, garages and other useful services are also indicated.
Collaboration as a factor of success
A basic model contains between 20,000 and 30,000 components. Almost 70% of these components are developed – either partially or totally – by sub-contactors. This kind of outsourcing can account for anywhere up to 50% of engineering costs… The preceding figures were quoted by Yoshinori Konno, Professor of Commerce at Hosei University, near Tokyo, in a recent study. He wrote that “the close collaboration between automotive manufacturers and their sub-contractors explains the pronounced competitiveness of the Japanese industry at the international level”. This unique system has been the object of robust criticism, with certain commentators accusing it of being “outmoded”. However, it still achieves results.
Sanoh is a sub-contracting company focusing on innovation, even at its factory in Valenciennes (north France), where the company works hand-in-hand with Toyota. Sanoh collaborates with almost all the players in the Japanese car industry, including Honda. The sub-contractor developed the battery that powers Honda’s Asimo robot, as well as components for the engines and chassis of various Nissan, Honda and Toyota models.
“The battery used in the Asimo robot, as well as in other kinds of products such as electric bicycles and wheelchairs, is a good example of the type of products manufactured as a result of development partnerships. Recently, to meet environmental challenges, Sanoh suggested – in a move demonstrating its position at the avant-garde of the industry – making the components it designs lighter. We don’t only work to order in view of specific projects,” says Yozo Takeda, Sanoh’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
Research & Development involves an audacious approach to teamwork. “When we set up R&D teams, Sanoh engineers often join the teams of our partners where they do routine, day-to-day design work, as if they were employed by the company in question. The teams are closely integrated and mixed,” says Mr Takeda.
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