Aisin AW Co., Ltd. Business Report up until FY ended Mar. 2015

Business Highlights

Recent Years

Business Overview (FY ended Mar. 31, 2015)

-Sales reached JPY 1,127,200 million, an increase of 7.0% year-on-year due mainly to a rise in vehicle production by major customers.
-Operating profit reached JPY 89,700 million, an increase of 10.5% year-on-year. Despite a rise in costs for preparing production infrastructure, profit was boosted by increased sales, the Company's initiatives to improve profitability, and a weak yen.

Business Plan

-In May 2015, the Company said that it plans to supply 7.9 million automatic transmissions (ATs) in the fiscal year ending in March 2016 (FY 2015), an increase of 1.03 million from the FY 2014 results. The Company aims for the year-over-year increase of more than 1 million units for the first time. Aisin AW expects a significant increase in supply to the Toyota Group and European automakers, and by region, to the growing China market. The Company is increasing production capacity of ATs in Japan and China to expand its supply volume. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 11, 2015)

-In August 2014, Mutsumi Kawamoto, president of Aisin AW Co., Ltd., said that the Company is poised to boost its global sales of automatic transmissions to 10 million units per year by FY 2020, up approximately 50% from the level in FY 2013. Sales volume is expected to increase thanks to growing demand for automobiles worldwide, which is projected to reach 100 million units per year in the second half of the 2010s. The Company aims to raise its consolidated sales to JPY 1.5 trillion by FY 2020, which represents a gain of 40% from FY 2013. Aisin AW plans to improve its cost competitiveness by promoting use of common parts for automatic transmissions that are supplied to Toyota Motor Corporation and other automakers. The Company also intends to accelerate the development and sales of advanced transmission technologies to support downsized engines with a supercharger or a turbocharger. In addition, the development of 10-speed automatic transmissions will be considered, which is expected to bolster the company's brand image. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on August 20, 2014)

-Leading two automatic transmission (AT) suppliers, Aisin AW Co., Ltd. and Jatco Ltd., are increasing their sales all over the world. The two companies have been increasing the number of their plants in emerging countries; Aisin AW is concentrating its management resources on ATs while Jatco is focusing on continuously variable transmissions (CVTs). In order to support their major customers' production expansion outside Japan, the suppliers have been stepping up local production, which has led to the increase in sales. Aisin AW and Jatco rank in the first and second in the global AT market (excluding those made in-house by automakers). According to Aisin AW, its global market share is 15%, followed by Jatco's 11% (FY 2012 data). Aisin AW aims to maintain its 15% global share through FY 2020. To achieve this goal, the company plans to increase its sales of transmissions for hybrid vehicles. Aisin AW also aims to satisfy needs for ATs to be mated with turbocharged downsized engines, whose demand is expected to increase in emerging countries. Meanwhile, Jatco intends to expand its customer base to win the top market share in the world by FY 2020. With its main focus on the North American and Chinese markets, Jatco is also promoting development of low-cost ATs designed for emerging markets. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on July 8, 2014)

Recent Development Outside Japan

<China>
-On December 12, 2014, AW Suzhou Co., Ltd. (China) has produced its first automatic transmission for Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle Company, and held a ceremony to celebrate the production launch. The transmission is the AWF4S15-II 4-speed automatic transmission with small torque capacity. (From a press release on December 12, 2014)

-On September 16, 2014, AW Suzhou Co., Ltd. (China) released its first AWF4S15-II small torque capacity 4-speed automatic transmissions for Chongqing Changan Automobile's front-engine, front-wheel-drive vehicles. This is the first time that the Company supplies its products to Chongqing Changan Automobile. (From a press release on September 16, 2014)

-On August 27, 2014, Tianjin AW Automatic Transmission Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Aisin AW, said it held a ceremony to celebrate the release of its first F21 automatic transmission off the production line. (From a press release on August 30, 2014)

Contracts

Year Maker/ Model Products Remarks
2014 Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle

AWF4S15-II 4-speed AT with small torque capacity

Product of AW Suzhou Co., Ltd. (China)
2014 Chongqing Changan Automobile

AWF4S15-II 4-speed AT with small torque capacity

Product of AW Suzhou Co., Ltd. (China)
2013 Mazda "Axela Hybrid"

HV's motor-integrated transmissions

Mazda developed this vehicle by utilizing hybrid technology licensed from Toyota. The Company produce the transmissions at the second plant of its headquarters.

Awards

Year Car Maker Award
2015 FAW Toyota Group Excellent Quality Award
Tianjin AW Automatic Transmission Co., Ltd. won the award.
2014 GM Quality Excellence Awards
Okazaki Plant and Okazaki East Plant won the award.
2013 Mitsubishi Motors VFG (Vehicle Function Group) Award for Excellence

R&D Expenditure

(in millions of JPY)
  FY ended Mar. 31, 2015 FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 FY ended Mar. 31, 2013
Overall 55,400 52,400 52,900

R&D Facilities

Name Location
Monozukuri Center Aichi Pref., Japan
AW Technical Center U.S.A., Inc. Michigan, USA
AW Technical Center Europe S.A. Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium
AW Suzhou Technical Center Co., Ltd. Suzhou, China

R&D Structure

-In April 2014, the Company announced that it will establish AW Suzhou Automotive Technical Center at the Suzhou Industrial Park. The Company will invest approximately USD 39 million in this facility, which will engage in R&D, designing, testing, technical support and consulting services in the area of engine and transmissions. The center will be capitalized at USD 13 million. Sales are expected to reach CNY 76 million by 2015, and CNY 100 million by 2020. A number of major companies in the automotive industry such as Volvo, Delphi, and Bosch operate at the Suzhou Industrial Park. (From news releases issued by multiple sources on April 21, 2014)

R&D Activities

-During the fiscal year that ended March 2015, the Company worked to develop next-generation products ahead of its customers based on the expertise it has gained from developing its products and technologies thus far such as transmissions and navigation systems. This was done to respond to diversified drivetrain systems and high-level information systems in our car-dependent society. In this regard, the Company's main achievements include Medium and High Torque FR 6-speed Automatic Transmission.

-At the 2015 JSAE Automotive Engineering Exposition, the Company exhibited the High Torque Capacity FWD 8-Speed Automatic Transmission, the Medium Torque Capacity RWD 2-Motor Hybrid Transmission and Medium Torque Capacity CVT. The Company also exhibited the SD Voice Navigation System and the "NAVIelite" Car Navigation Application for Smartphone.

Product Development

Next-generation AT to meet EU's new CO2 emission standards
-The Company will promote the development of next-generation transmissions, aiming to help OEMs to meet EU's new carbon dioxide (CO2) emission standards, which are expected to be enforced around 2020. In Europe, the average emission target to be achieved by all new cars will be reduced from 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer (g/km) at present to 95g/km by 2020. Under these circumstances, Aisin AW will develop next-generation automatic transmissions. The Company plans to introduce a heat management system to optimize oil temperature and improve efficiency of a transmission itself. The company will also apply its technology to damp vibrations for transmissions with fewer engine cylinders. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on April 2, 2015)

-The Company has started proposing its new transmission for 1-motor hybrid systems to automakers. The new transmission will be paired with hybrid systems installed in large-sized vehicles with over 300 Nm of torque. Aisin AW has already developed a prototype of the new transmission and introduced it to some customers as one of the measures to make them achieve the upcoming European emission standards to be implemented around 2020. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on April 13, 2015)

Capital Expenditure

(in millions of JPY)
  FY ended Mar. 31, 2015 FY ended Mar. 31, 2014 FY ended Mar. 31, 2013
Overall 78,820 74,854 66,632

Investments in Japan

-In October 2014, CVTEC Co., Ltd. will construct a new plant in Sasebo-shi, Nagasaki Prefecture. CVTEC is an Aisin AW group company that manufactures CVT belts. It supplies CVT belts to CVT plants of Toyota Motor Corporation and Aisin AW Co., Ltd. and its production lines are now located at headquarters plant of Toyota Motor Hokkaido, Inc. and Aisin AW's Tahara Plant. The new Kyushu plant will be CVTEC's third production base in Japan. The company aims to secure stable supplies of the CVT belts by diversifying its production sites. The new plant is slated to start production in December 2016. The total investment in the construction project is JPY 8 billion. The new plant will have an annual production capacity of 600,000 CVT belts. With the addition of the new plant, CVTEC's total CVT belt production capacity of the three production sites will be expanded to 3 million units. Its sales in the fiscal year ended in March 2014 were JPY 16 billion. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on October 27, 2014)

Investments Outside Japan

<Thailand>
-December 2014, Aisin AW Co., Ltd. will construct a new plant for producing automatic transmissions (ATs) in Chonburi, Thailand, by 2017. The Company will invest JPY 10 billion in site acquisition and building construction of the plant. The new plant will start local production of some of its products that are currently produced in Japan and exported to Thailand. In July 2017, the plant will start producing ATs for rear-wheel drive vehicles, which will be supplied to Toyota Motor Corporation's plants in Thailand. Aisin AW aims at annual production capacity of 120,000 units. The new plant will mark the company's first plant in Thailand and third AT plant outside Japan, following the U.S. and China. By January 2015, the Company intends to establish a new production company, AW (Thailand) Co., Ltd., to promote local production at a full scale. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on December 6, 2014)

Planned Capital Investments

-According to the Company's investment plans as of March 31, 2015, JPY 136,000 million is expected to be spent on facilities and equipment to manufacture drivetrain products.