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5. Visteon Corporation Business Report FY ended Dec. 2018

Visteon Corporation Business Report FY ended Dec. 2018

Factors
1) Net Sales
-The Company’s sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 decreased by 5.1% over the previous year to USD 2,984 million. While favorable currency translation effect increased sales by USD 48 million and the consolidation of Changchun Visteon Faway Auto Electronics increased sales by USD 13 million, these gains were offset by other negative effects. Unfavorable volumes, product mix and net new business resulted in a decrease in sales of USD 151 million while customer pricing combined with miscellaneous effects caused a decrease in sales of USD 72 million.

2) Net Income
-For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, the Company had a net income of USD 164 million, a decrease of 6.8% from the previous year. The decrease in net income was primarily due to the decrease in both net sales and gross margin. This was caused by unfavorable sales volumes, increased research and development expenses, and unfavorable customer pricing and product mix.

Business Partnership

-The Company announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Guangzhou Automobile Group Automotive Engineering Institute (GAC Engineering) to develop and deploy autonomous driving and other cockpit electronics solutions. Under the agreement, both companies will collaborate on the development of autonomous driving solutions using the Company’s DriveCore technology platform. In addition, both companies will explore potential commercial engagements in instrument clusters, displays, augmented reality head-up displays and domain controllers using the Company’s SmartCore technology. (From a press release on January 9, 2018)

Contracts

-The Company announced that it is launching its first digital instrument cluster developed for Groupe PSA on the new DS 3 Crossback SUV. The digital cluster is a prominent feature in the fully digital cockpit and is designed to make information easily available and accessible with controls at the driver’s fingertips. Incorporating many pioneering features previously only present in higher segment vehicles, the 7-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) cluster represents a key component in the high-tech cockpit. The TFT provides high-quality graphical information with animations and 3D content. It also integrates personalization capabilities, replication of infotainment and navigation elements and vehicle safety information, all addressing functional safety requirements related to ASIL B requirements. (From a press release on December 4, 2018)

-The Company announced that it is supplying its latest infotainment system and hybrid instrument cluster technology on the new Mahindra Marazzo, launched in September 2018. The infotainment system and instrument cluster were designed by the Company’s technical centers in Chennai and Pune and will be manufactured in Chennai. The infotainment system features include a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen with haptics, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, voice-activated controls, native navigation, EcoSense to rank driving patterns, audio with emergency calling, Bluetooth and other features. The instrument cluster is designed on a scalable platform to cater to multiple model variants. The high-end variant has a 4.2-inch TFT-based display and incorporates turn-by-turn navigation as well as personal and service reminders. (From a press release on November 19, 2018)

-The Company announced that its industry-first cockpit domain controller, SmartCore, is making its debut in Daimler’s all-new Mercedes-Benz A-Class. The new A-Class is the world’s first vehicle featuring an intelligent integrated cockpit domain controller using a single silicon chip with multiple CPUs. The Company will be launching cockpit domain controller applications with several automakers from 2018 to 2020. Depending on the model variant, the SmartCore solution powers the free-standing driver and information display consisting of two 7-inch screens or one 7- and one 10.25-inch screen. (From a press release on September 25, 2018)

-The Company will provide a SmartCore-based integrated cockpit domain controller to Geely Auto for its new electric vehicle platform. The SmartCore system for Geely will integrate Geely’s GKUI intelligent ecosystem service solution for advanced cloud-based infotainment capabilities in addition to instrument cluster and head-up display features. The SmartCore-based cockpit controller is the first integrated domain controller solution that Geely has adopted for its vehicles. (From a press release on April 24, 2018)

Awards

-The Company was awarded an Automotive News PACE Award for its industry-first cockpit domain controller platform, SmartCore. SmartCore offers a solution to integrate the instrument cluster, infotainment system and other emerging technologies for the cockpit on a single system-on-chip. Launched this year with a global automaker based in Europe, SmartCore will be featured on several additional vehicle programs introduced over the next several years. (From a press release on April 10, 2018)

Outlook

-For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019, the Company expects to have sales between USD 2,900 million and USD 3,000 million as well as an adjusted EBITDA between USD 280 million and USD 310 million.

R&D Facilities

-The Company has 20 technical centers located across the world.

-The Company inaugurated its new, expanded technology center in Karlsruhe, Germany, which will drive advanced development of vehicle cockpit electronics, including information displays, driver assistance systems, cockpit domain controllers and autonomous driving technologies. The Karlsruhe center also leads the development of the Company’s DriveCore autonomous driving platform and supports the Company’s growth with European automakers, collaborating closely with Daimler, BMW and the VW Group on the introduction of new technology. The new 6,500-square-meter facility will house 400 employees from the Company’s technology office, product development, engineering and customer teams. (From a press release on November 15, 2018)

-The Company inaugurated its fourth India technical center in Panjim, Goa, India with the state’s Minister for Revenue and Information Technology. The new technology center can employ up to 50 workers with the potential for future expansion. The center will collaborate closely with the Company’s other technical centers in India and will support the development of artificial intelligence software, advanced driver awareness systems and deep learning for autonomous vehicles. (Based on social media update of Minister IT, Goa state on November 1, 2018)

Technological Alliance

-The Company and ZongMu Technology (Shanghai), a China-based supplier of advanced driving assistance systems, announced a strategic cooperation agreement to develop specific Level 3 and beyond autonomous driving solutions. Under the agreement, Visteon Asia Pacific, a Company subsidiary in China, and ZongMu Technology will leverage their strengths to jointly develop a self-parking solution integrating the Company’s DriveCore autonomous driving platform and ZongMu's autonomous parking system. (From a press release on June 29, 2018)

R&D Activities

-The Company announced that it is showing its DriveCore autonomous driving platform for the first time in China at the 2018 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China 2018). Designed to accelerate the development and commercialization of autonomous driving technology, DriveCore is the first solution to allow automakers to build autonomous driving solutions quickly and in an open collaboration model. The Company’s partnerships with DeepScale, STEER, StradVision and AAI helped to develop the DriveCore platform. The Company will display products at Auto China 2018 that will underpin the shift towards connected and autonomous vehicles, including fully reconfigurable instrument clusters, the latest-generation, high-definition digital display technologies, driver monitoring systems, ADAS integration and a virtualized instrument cluster domain. (From a press release on April 24, 2018)

-The Company announced that it is demonstrating its DriveCore autonomous driving platform at the grand opening of the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti, Michigan. DriveCore was designed as a complete technology platform, consisting of the DriveCore Compute hardware, Runtime in-vehicle middleware, and Studio PC-based software toolset, needed to develop machine learning algorithms for level-3 and above autonomous driving applications. During the ACM grand opening, the Company will demonstrate a highway pilot autonomous driving system, providing hands-free vehicle operation in a highway environment. The Company is using the American Center for Mobility to test and validate technology related to its DriveCore platform. Focus areas include autonomous driving algorithms, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology and functionality integrated with autonomous driving, and sensor technology and security protocols. (From a press release on April 4, 2018)

Product Development

Products shown at International Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exhibition
-The Company is displaying products that will help support the industry shift toward electric vehicles at the International Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exhibition (EVS31) from October 1-3, in Kobe, Japan. The Company will display products including the following:

• a 4K instrument cluster with integrated driver monitoring infrared cameras for facial recognition and head and eye-gaze tracking.
• the DriveCore autonomous driving platform, which will provide automakers a fail-safe domain controller, with a high degree of computing power scalability, which supports the integration of data from multiple camera, lidar and radar sensors.
• a low-cost, standalone V2X (vehicle-to-everything) module
• a SmartCore domain controller, launched with a European-based automaker in early 2018. (From a press release on September 30, 2018)

DriveCore autonomous driving platform
-The Company unveiled its DriveCore autonomous driving platform at CES 2018. DriveCore will allow automakers to build autonomous driving solutions quickly and in an open collaboration model. DriveCore was designed as a complete technology platform, consisting of hardware, in-vehicle middleware and a PC-based software toolset needed to develop machine learning algorithms for autonomous driving applications of Level 3 and above. DriveCore will provide automakers a fail-safe domain controller to support the integration of data from multiple sensors. (From a press release on January 9, 2018)

SmartCore cockpit domain controller
-The Company announced plans to deliver the next-generation of its SmartCore cockpit controllers using automotive solutions from Qualcomm Technologies. The SmartCore domain controller will be the first platform-based domain controller to incorporate the Snapdragon 820A Automotive platform. The first SmartCore-based solution is scheduled to launch in 2018 on a high-volume, global vehicle platform with a European automaker. The platform initially will cover driver information, infotainment and connectivity domains. It will be expanded toward a scalable computing concept that integrates additional displays, e-mirrors, augmented reality and driver monitoring in future model years. (From a press release on January 8, 2018)

-The Company expects to invest between USD 135 and 145 million in capital expenditures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019.