Aisin AW Co., Ltd. -Shiroyama Plant (Formerly Aisin AI) Business Report FY ended Mar. 2018
R&D Facilities
| Name | Location |
| Technical center | Aichi Pref., Japan |
Product Development
-The weight of a medium torque capacity FWD 6-speed manual transmission developed by the Company has been reduced from the previous 47 kg to 40 kg. It has also been shortened by 24 mm. The parts are standardized components based on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform and will be installed in the new Corolla Series models that Toyota produces and markets globally.
Investment in Japan
-In July 2018, the Company announced that it will expand its Kira Plant producing manual transmissions (MTs), adding automatic transmission (AT) units to the plant’s product lineup. For ATs, the Company has been limited to the production of gears and cases only so far, and this will be first time for the company to assemble AT units. The investment amount will be approximately JPY 11.5 billion, with production starting in November 2019. Annual production will be 400,000 units. The Kira Plant currently has an area of 39,870 square meters and produces 60,000 MTs a year. The area will be expanded by 13,462 square meters. The plant will complete the expansion work in May 2019, install new equipment in June, and start producing 8-speed AT units for front-wheel-drive vehicles in November. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on July 2, 2018)