On September 6, 2005, the “Project Information Council” of Moriroku’s Production HQ gave the green light on the development project for the next-generation Accord model, and a development project team was launched. The Accord is the largest family of global cars produced in various countries throughout the world. (Major producing countries include Japan, U.S., China, and Thailand.)


During 2005-2007, various models of global cars for personal use appeared on the market one after another. For Moriroku’s production bases throughout the world, this was also a period in which they began full-scale coverage of important car models that would lead to significant growth of both sales and profits. I was appointed as the leader of the project that aimed at making a smooth start of development for the Accord which was then the largest in production volume among these models. I got busy, keenly aware of my responsibility for the task.

We worked on the Accord Project from September 2005 until October 2007. Now I feel that these 25 months, although not a short period, flashed by. At each juncture, an assessment meeting such as a “Project Review Council,” “Arrangement Review Council,” “Quality Assessment Council,” “Production Readiness Review Council,” and “Production Result Review Council” was held in which we reported the status of development and received judgments for efficient promotion of the development.

This model contained such functional components as a large-size console with a new type of armrest. Our team was organized by most experienced, most competent members selected from all departments of the company. Although the progress of the project was partially delayed and there were parts not satisfactorily matured in the basic development phase, such as film transfer components which had not reached a predetermined productivity goal, we were generally successful in making a good start with the strong support of the manufacturing plant (Kanto Plant).

Such a delay was caused by the fact that the launch in Japan nearly coincided with that in North America and, in addition, the launch overlapped with the busiest period of trial machining/aging for molds in Thailand and China. However, following the successful launch in Japan, we made a very good start in North America and gradually made up for lost time. I really appreciate the efforts made by the Design Group, the Aging Group, the Performance Test Group, the production plants, and other relevant sectors during this period.

And then we successfully made ourselves ready for other models, and these global cars now provide one of our prime sources of earnings both in Japan and abroad. It was a good experience both for myself and for all other members of the team to take charge of this important launching project for the Accord and make a success of it with the cooperation of many people involved in it.