Kiyonari Shirato

Renewing the whole platform

On becoming development lead of the new N-BOX, Shirato first thought about how happy it could make Japanese families, and united the team behind the concept "for the happiness of Japanese families." Rather than a model change of a popular car, he wanted to create from zero what a Japanese family car should be, and put forward a bold plan to make the entire platform, including the engine, new. In car development, which often carries over the previous model's basic technology, the target was set far beyond normal evolution.