TOKYO : Japanese carmaker Nissan said on Tuesday it will invest some US$750 million in a new research and development centre to catch up with rivals in environmental and safety technology.

The number-two Japanese carmaker inaugurated the Nissan Advanced Technology Centre (NATC) on Tuesday in Atsugi, west of Tokyo, with some 2,000 employees and laboratories for advanced vehicles, electric power trains and other equipment.

The investment will include renovations to a power train development centre and a global design studio, both in Atsugi, Nissan Motor Co. said in a statement.

At NATC, Nissan's engineers will pursue a range of eco-friendly technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, including electric vehicles and hybrids, the statement said.

Nissan will also develop an "intelligent transportation system" in which data received from traffic beacons is used to alert drivers and help reduce potential road accidents, it added.

"NATC has been established to accelerate the research and advanced engineering of breakthrough technologies for Nissans next generation products," Nissan executive vice president Mitsuhiko Yamashita said.

"Future technologies being developed are aimed at environmental sustainability and towards creating a safer mobile society," he said.

Nissan, hit by a business slump in the late 1990s, has lagged behind Toyota and Honda in the development of new-generation vehicles. Honda also plans to build a new laboratory in Japan in 2009.

Last month, Nissan reported the first drop in annual profits since 1999 under its legendary chief executive Carlos Ghosn, a Brazilian-born Frenchman who is also Renault chief executive officer.

NATC is located in Kanagawa prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo.

Nissan has two other major facilities in the prefecture for product planning, research and development and advanced development: the Nissan Technical Centre in Atsugi and Nissan Research Centre in Yokosuka. - AFP/de