How AI Speeds Development at Nissan | with Takayuki Nakamoto of Nissan Technical Center Europe

Recorded live at CES 2026 at the Sonatus booth, host John Heinlein interviews Takayuki 'Terry' Nakamoto, Director of Electrical, Electronics, and ADAS Engineering Department at Nissan Technical Center Europe. The conversation explores how NTCE develops vehicles manufactured in the UK for global markets and discusses the challenges of traditional vehicle development processes that rely heavily on physical vehicle testing. Terry explains how their partnership with Sonatus is revolutionizing their approach through two key AI solutions: Sonatus Collector AI, which enables remote data access and customizable data collection policies, and Sonatus AI Technician, which provides expert-level diagnostic guidance. These tools are helping Nissan reduce development time, minimize the need for expensive preproduction vehicles, and accelerate their start-of-production (SOP) cycles while maintaining quality standards. The interview showcases real demonstrations of the technology and highlights the significant time and resource savings achieved through this digital transformation approach.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
0:24 Efficiency
1:04 Terry's Background and Experience
3:43 Overview of Nissan Technical Center Europe
6:22 Digitalization Initiative at NTCE
7:26 2026 Nissan LEAF
7:59 Challenges in Vehicle Development
11:20 Improving data collection with Sonatus Collector AI
12:45 Dynamically adaptive data capture
15:21 Data Analysis with Sonatus AI Technician
17:38 Making every engineer an expert with AI
19:37 Efficiency gains in problem diagnosis
21:20 Conclusion and Reflections