The key to competitiveness of platforms for next-generation BEVs is the addition of new value through SDVs.

The Japanese full-line vehicle manufacturers Toyota, Nissan and Honda have spent the last ten years consolidating their platforms into global platforms to gain competitiveness in terms of development efficiency, cost and performance, and from around 2020 they will begin to reap the rewards of this consolidation, and the positive contribution to their business performance will be noticeable. The positive contribution to business performance is also evident. Although these platforms are maturing, with the transition to the second and third generations, there is a trend towards a renewed increase in platform variation in response to diversifying demand in each global region, and if complexity continues to increase, it may be necessary to reorganise the platform strategy.

The current focus of platform strategies is ‘platforms for next-generation BEVs’, and all companies intend to commercialise dedicated BEV platforms incorporating SDV compatibility in 2025-2026. The concept of platforms for next-generation BEVs is expanding from conventional areas related to product competitiveness, such as cost and vehicle performance, to a comprehensive approach to BEV development and production, including vehicle manufacturing processes such as production technology and production facilities.

In other words, in addition to the performance of the platform itself, the overall competitiveness of the vehicle, including efforts in peripheral areas such as Gigacast, is now being questioned, and more emphasis is being placed on the effects produced by improvements in the supply chain and production technology. In addition, the value of the platform itself, in addition to the basic performance and cost competitiveness of conventional vehicles, is increasingly focused on the competitiveness created by the new added value of SDV, and the major focus is on whether the new value realised by the platforms for next-generation BEVs, which are designed for SDV, can meet customer needs. The focus is on whether the new values realised by the platforms for the next generation of BEVs, which are designed for SDV, will meet customer needs.