Nissan Leaf Electric Motor’s Magnetic Wire Now US-Sourced
Nissan’s Leaf electric motor magnetic wire is now sourced in the U.S.
Nissan is working on finding more and more ways to localize its Leaf
production in the U.S. When the vehicle first became available in
December 2010, the car was fully manufactured in Japan.
In January 2013, Nissan ramped up production of the Leaf in Smyrna,
Tenn. This was followed by production of the electric motor in Decherd,
Tenn., in April.
“Bringing that production here and those jobs here, it is better for
everyone,” said Coral Kanies, Nissan Decherd Production Manager.
The latest step in sourcing and localizing the Leaf production in
North America is the company’s new source for magnetic wire. Before,
Nissan said special magnetic wire was being shipped in crates from
Japan. The wire is heavy and bulky.
Nissan said now a company called Superior Essex, based in Fort Wayne,
Ind., supplies all the copper wire that goes into the Nissan Leaf
electric motor.
“You do not have to keep a large inventory here, which also costs you
money, and you do not have to wait weeks or even months to get your
material for production,” said Xavier Mann, director of international
sales, Superior Essex.
Nissan production manager Coral Kanies added getting the wire within
the U.S. saves Nissan a significant amount of money on each vehicle.
“The copper wire is one huge component of the electric motor,” said
Kanies “The magnets are the other huge component, and those are
processed in Oklahoma, so having that all right here in North America
really helps our lead times so we can supply this Leaf long term, put
the money back into making advancements in the car.”
According to Nissan, localizing a component like the magnetic wire
takes about two years. The company did about one year of quality testing
and spent another year on set up and logistics. Nissan added its
electric motor facility in Decherd will use only locally sourced
magnetic wire by the end of this year.
Nissan explained its goal by 2015 is to assemble 85 percent of the vehicles sold in the U.S. within North America.