Huayu Vision Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Formerly Shanghai Koito Automotive Lamp Co., Ltd.) Business Report FY ended Dec. 2016

Recent Development

-The Company announced that the company has passed the tests on its development system by Volkswagen, Audi, FAW-VW and Audi China. The test was conducted in July 2014. The company said it had been qualified for joining VW’s technical and product development. (From various releases on July 28, 2014)

Acquisition

-In March 2010, the Company acquired 51% shares of Jilin Dongguang Ruibao Automotive Lamp Co., Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Jilin Dongguang Group. (From a press release on May 21, 2010)

New plants of the Company's parent company in China

-Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the parent company of the Company, invested 49.8 million yuan to establish a new plant, Hubei Koito Automotive Lamp Co., Ltd. in Xiaogan, Hubei in July 2014. The plant would have the capacity to produce 750,000 headlights and 1.35 million rear lamps per year.

-Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the parent company of the Company, announced that it would resume construction of an automotive lighting production line at the new Guanzhou Plant in September 2013. The company invested JPY 2 billion in this project, which had been suspended following territorial disputes between China and Japan. When the new production line became operational, the Guanzhou Plant would have the capacity to produce 1.5 million headlights per year. (From news releases issued by multiple sources on July 29, 2013)

Business Plan of the Company's parent company in China

-In consideration of raising its supply capacity in North China including Tianjin as well, Koito Manufacturing started researches for establishing a new plant there. Koito planned to start operations at the new plant in North China as early as 2013. While local, Japanese, U.S. and European automakers were working on huge expansion of automobile production, Koito aimed to expand its business in China by establishing cost-competitive business operations there. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on January 11, 2011)

Awards

-The Company announced that it won SAIC Motor’s Technology Innovation Awards for the following products.
-Exterior lamps for the Shanghai VW: 2012 SAIC Technical Innovation Award (second place)
-Headlamp light distribution system components: 2012 SAIC Technical Innovation Award and the Patent for Invention Award (third place)
-Combination head lamps for the Denfeng Teana: 2012 SAIC Technical Innovation Award (third place)
-Exterior lamps for the Buick GL8 and the FirstLand: 2012 SAIC Technical Innovation Award (third place)
(From a press release on November 4, 2013)

-The Company received the Best Performance Award 2012 from Shanghai VW and the Excellent Supplier Award from the Guangzhou Automobile Group. (From a press release in 2012)

R&D Facility

Name of the facility Shanghai Koito Automotive Lamp Co., Ltd. R&D Center
Year established Oct. 2001
Overview -The center is a specialized R&D facility for automotive lamps.
-The center consists of three Departments ; Technology Development Department, Tooling Department, and Production Technology Department.
-Simultaneous R&D activities with Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan) and VW (Germany) are made possible by sharing data and information on product designs, whereby designing and development can be performed together with automakers.
-The company is carrying out joint development projects with a number of universities in China such as Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and University of Shanghai for Science and Technology with an aim to develop new technologies, new light sources, and new materials for headlights.

R&D Activities

-In June, the Company's newly built night road landscape lighting testing ground was put into operation, which is the largest testing ground for automotive lamps. In 2011, the Company's investment in R&D was more than 180 million yuan. During 2010, the Company developed 118 products. (From a press release on June 14, 2011)

-On 2011 Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, the Company displayed IP22 combination headlamp, three-color combination taillights, AFS system's processor and rotary actuators. (From a press release on April 26, 2011)

Patents

-The Company announced that it obtained a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its headlamp cleaners on July 2, 2013. The headlamp cleaners were used on various new vehicle models, including the Roewe 550, the LaCrosse and the Superb. (From news releases issued by multiple sources, July 22, 2013)

-In 2012, the Company applied for 37 patents, including 11 patents of invention, 14 patents of utility and 12 patents of design. It had 45 authorized patents, including 4 patents of invention, 11 patents of utility and 30 patents of design.