INFINITI Q60 Sports Already In Production

Production of the all-new INFINITI Q60 has started at the company's manufacturing facility in Tochigi, Japan. Having produced INFINITI vehicles since the brand's launch in 1989, the introduction of the Q60 starts yet another chapter in the plant's history, one involving a series of production line upgrades and new manufacturing processes to keep up with the new car's requirements.

The Q60's unique trunk lid feature features a resin skin set on a steel frame. This gives Infiniti's designers more options when developing shapes and contours using only a single part. To keep up with production requirements, several changes to the Infiniti's assembly lines have to be implemented. Some of these changes include the adoption of a deep-body stamping technology and upgraded tooling machinery required to ensure high quality when creating the Q60's trunk lid. Further changes to improve quality control included a new lighting system and adding new camera and video systems to the assembly line.

To facilitate the application of the new car's glossy-deep red finish, the Tochigi plant now has a dedicated paint booth, which features a combination of machinery and manual processes. The Q60's "Dynamic Sandstone Red" finish is a product of hundreds of tests involving hundreds of paint formulations and application techniques.

Tochigi has dedicated 216 Takumi (master craftsmen) to the production of the Q60. Picked from the plant's 4,500 strong workforce, the Takumi posses a high level of technical knowledge and each of them have undergone special training in premium vehicle manufacturing. Takumi play a key role in every section of the Q60's production line starting from stamping all the way to quality assurance.

True to the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen or continuous improcement, Takumi are constantly trained to develop new techniques and skills. Leading the Takumi are six Meister Takumi, posessing the highest understandng of premium car production and the desires and expectations of Infiniti's customers. The Meister Takumi are in charge of overseeing every aspect of production, making sure that everything involved in making cars are in line with Infiniti's standards.

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