Nissan Motor Co. said Monday it will invest 11 billion yen by May 2007 in a new paint application system at its plant in Karita, Fukuoka Prefecture, to boost the efficiency of its auto body painting.

The automaker called the system "the first in the world to eliminate paint hoses attached to the arms of the finish line coating robots."

Instead of hoses, the system fills the tanks of paint guns directly, which allows the use of smaller robots capable of more detailed paint work, which usually must be done manually.

The new coating system is also more environmentally friendly because it uses water-based paints, helping reduce by 42 percent the use of environmentally harmful organic compounds, the automaker said.