Hitachi Astemo, Ltd. (Formerly Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.) Business Report FY ended Mar. 2020
Financial Overview |
(in million JPY) |
| FY ended Mar. 31, 2020 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2019 | Rate of Change (%) |
Factors | |
| Overall | ||||
| Revenues | 811,600 | 971,000 | (16.4) | - |
| Adjusted operating income | 30,100 | 38,000 | (20.8) | - |
| Adjusted operating income rate (%) | 3.7 | 3.9 | - | - |
Merger with Three Honda-Group Subsidiaries
-On October 30, Hitachi, Ltd. (Hitachi) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda) announced that four parts suppliers under the umbrellas of Hitachi and Honda will integrate their operations. Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. (Hitachi AMS), Keihin Corporation (Keihin), Showa Corporation (Showa), and Nissin Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Nissin) will conduct an absorption-type merger in which Hitachi AMS will be the ultimate surviving company and Keihin, Showa, and Nissin will each be absorbed. At a joint press conference held by the six companies in Tokyo on October 30, Keiji Kojima, Hitachi, Ltd.’s Vice President and Executive Officer, mentioned that, “The Integrated Company will aim to take third place or higher in the fields of powertrain systems, chassis, and safety systems in the world.” The Integrated Company will aim to improve safety and mobility services particularly in the field of connected cars by utilizing Hitach’s digital technologies such as Lumada solutions in addition to creating synergy by combining the strengths of Keihin’s powertrain technology, Showa’s suspension and steering technology, Nissin’s brake system technology, and Hitachi AMS’ powertrain system, chassis system and safety system technology. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on October 31, 2019)
Recent Business Developments
Signed Partnership Agreement with Plug and Play Based in the USA, Launching Joint-business Operations
-Hitachi Automotive Systems (AMS) announced a partnership for collaboration with Plug and Play, a Silicon Valley global innovation platform that brings together the best startups with the world's largest corporations. Through this collaboration, Hitachi AMS will strengthen connections with leading start-ups in the mobility space including autonomous driving and connected cars, and accelerate its innovation capabilities. Plug and Play has offices in over 20 locations globally, and has developed accelerator programs and corporate innovation services. Plug and Play has developed a unique ecosystem of start-ups and entrepreneurs, and runs accelerator programs across a range of industries including mobility, IoT, supply chain and logistics, and smart cities. (From a press release on July 31, 2019)
Acquired Chassis Brakes International
-Hitachi Automotive Systems (AMS) announced that it has granted KPS Capital Partners, LP a put-option agreement for the acquisition of 100% of Chassis Brakes International B.V. Chassis Brakes International is one of the suppliers of automotive safety solutions and had over EUR 900 million in sales for the year ended 31 December 2019. The proposed transaction will strengthen Hitachi Automotive Systems’ chassis and safety systems capabilities, as well as motion control capabilities across the whole vehicle. It will support further development and integration of electrification, AD/ADAS technologies and software. Chassis Brakes International’s highly experienced global management team will help drive further operational excellence, including quality standards, operating tools and processes, and digitalization. At the same time, Hitachi Automotive Systems would be investing in a growth segment. The combined business would have strong growth potential and be positioned to shape the direction of advanced safety systems via advanced engineering and system design capabilities. The proposed transition will enhance Chassis Brakes International and Hitachi Automotive’s highly complementary geographic footprint and technological expertise. (From a press release on June 19, 2019)
Contracts
Delivery to Suzuki of Stereo Camera Capable of Detecting Pedestrians at Night
Delivery to the Carry, Every, Every Wagon, Solio, Solio Bandit
-The Company is delivering advanced driver assist systems such as lane-departure warning systems, disorientation warning systems, and Forward Vehicle Departure Warning (FVDW) systems to the redesigned Suzuki Carry. The night-time pedestrian detection system was developed, based on the Company’s proprietary mechanical-learning technology. This was made possible by installing large-image, teaching data into this new stereo camera. By doing, this camera can better detect pedestrians at night because of its higher quality/higher precision imaging technology. Until now, night-time detection had been difficult to achieve. (From a press release on June 24, 2019) (From a press release on September 12, 2019)
Delivery of Electric Vehicle Inverter to Audi e-tron
-Hitachi Automotive Systems (Hitachi AMS) announced on May 17 that its inverter for electric vehicles (EVs) was selected for the Audi e-tron. This is the first time for the company to supply inverters to Audi. The EV inverter employs a compact, high-efficiency power module with double-sided cooling and a built-in next-generation insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). The power density output of this inverter has been increased 160% compared to the previous generation of inverters. The Audi e-tron is the automaker’s first mass production EV equipped with double electric motors and an electronic all-wheel-drive system. Hitachi AMS will display the inverter at the Automotive Engineering Exposition 2019 Yokohama that will start on May 22. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 20, 2019)
R&D Expenditure |
(in billion JPY) |
| FY ended Mar. 31, 2020 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2019 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2018 | |
| Overall | - | 64.1 | 69.2 |
Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas Formed Business Partnership with TomTom
-TomTom announced collaboration with Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas for the development of a new real-time hazard service for navigation and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas will use its in-car sensor and edge processor technology to detect potholes and road debris, process that information, and send it to its cloud. This information is transferred to TomTom’s cloud-based fusion engine, currently used for its industry leading traffic data service - TomTom Traffic. TomTom would then deliver the hazard information to all navigation and ADAS applications running TomTom’s connected services. (From a press release on January 7, 2020)
Developed Stereo Camera with AEB/Long-distance Detection Capability (Without Use of Millimeter Wave Radar)
-Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. (Hitachi AMS) announced that it has developed a stereo camera which is capable of both long distance sensing and wide angle detection that enables automatic emergency brake (AEB) at intersections without installing millimeter wave radar. The company has widened each camera’s sensing range and employs movement of the sensing angle to expand detectable range. By making the detectable range three times wider than previous models, it enables AEB at intersections while maintaining long distance detection performance which allows for adaptive cruise control (ACC) without significant increase of pixels. (From a press release dated December 25, 2019)
Development of Vehicle Control Technology for Self-driving Vehicles
-Hitachi Automotive Systems (AMS) announced that it has developed a vehicle control technology for realizing autonomous driving on public roads. This technology enables vehicles to precisely trace indicated routes created by the AD / ADAS ECU (Autonomous Driving / Advanced Driving Assistance System Electronic Control Unit) even in situations such as turning at a large steering angle. With this technology, forward sensing information is stored once in the ECU and used so that points from the past to the present can be recognized as trajectories and the target trajectory can be tracked with high accuracy. In addition, vehicle motion prediction simulations are performed in the ECU, which correct response delays by predicting the response of actuators and the vehicle, further increasing the accuracy of trajectory tracking. (From a press release on October 11, 2019)
Developed Risk-avoidance Technology to Control Risks Associated with Self-driving
-Hitachi Automotive Systems (AMS) announced that it has developed a driving control technology that can avoid predicted risks, for application to autonomous vehicles on public roads. The AD ECU (Autonomous Driving Electronic Control Unit), which can make driving control decisions for autonomous driving, predicts potential risks in the driving environment, such as various moving objects and objects jumping out from blind spots, by virtual mapping and recognition of those risks. This technology compresses and expresses the future time of a moving object on a 2-dimensional predictive map and can reduce the processing by the AD ECU to make a risk predictive map in real time of moving objects even in blind spots possible. (From a press release on October 11, 2019)
Capital Expenditure |
(in billion JPY) |
| FY ended Mar. 31, 2020 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2019 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2018 | |
| Overall | - | 73.5 | 66.1 |
-Hitachi Automotive Systems announced that it is planning to invest at least USD 100 million, with potential of up to USD 330 million, for an expansion at their existing facility in Monroe, Georgia. Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc. is a group company of Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and manufactures engine powertrain systems, electric powertrain systems, and integrated vehicle control systems. The Monroe plant supplies advanced technology products for automotive OEMs, including Ford, GM, Nissan, Subaru, and Honda. Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc. opened their first facility in Georgia in 1997 and currently has 900 employees. (From a press release on May 17, 2019)