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5. Toyota Boshoku Corporation Business Report FY ended Mar. 2019

Toyota Boshoku Corporation Business Report FY ended Mar. 2019

Contracts

-The Company's automotive front seats, door trims, and filter products have been adopted for Toyota Motor Corporation’s all-new Lexus UX. The front seats feature a cover material with traditional Japanese Sashiko embroidery patterns. The crossed stitch design provides a high-quality feel to the seats. The seat back consists of upper and lower segments, and the bottom that supports the waist of users and the shoulder area are elastic and tight. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on December 11, 2018)

-The Company's lightweight molded foam door trim with high impact-resistance was chosen for Toyota's all-new Crown luxury sedan. Using high impact-resistant plastic as an impact modifier, the Company a realized a 20% reduction in weight compared with door trim made with conventional injection moulding. (From a press release on June 28, 2018)

Joint Venture

-The Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Delta Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Delta Kogyo), and Toyo Seat Co., Ltd. (Toyo Seat), for the establishment of an automotive seat production joint venture in the U.S. Toyota Motor Corporation and Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) have established a joint venture in Alabama, which will start vehicle assembly operations from 2021. It will work with Delta Kogyo and Toyo Seat, which have many business dealings with Mazda, to promote sales activities. The three companies will discuss the specifics of the agreement such as the location and operation start date. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on November 30, 2018)

Business Partnership

-The Company has made a capital investment in Kyowa Sangyo Corp. (Kyowa Sangyo), a major Japanese automotive sun visor manufacturer and subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Toyota Tsusho). It acquired 20% of the 93.95% share Toyota Tsusho owns in Kyowa Sangyo and became the second largest shareholder of the sun visor manufacturer. The Company is an interior system supplier that purchases sun visors from Kyowa Sangyo and supplies interior systems incorporating the sun visors to Toyota Motor Corporation. By enhancing collaboration with Kyowa Sangyo through capital participation, it will promote improvements in quality of interior parts and cost reduction activity in an effort to strengthen its competitiveness. Kyowa Sangyo holds about an 80% share of the Japanese sun visor market. The sun visor supplier has its main plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan and other plants in the U.S., China, and Indonesia. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on April 27, 2018)

Management Plan

<Action plan for the 2020 mid-term management plan (May 2019)>
-Sales and capital-to-asset ratio are in line with the plan, but operating profit is below the planned target.

＜Business Tasks＞
-Responding to environmental changes (the effects of vehicle-model make ups and rises in material costs)

1. Switching to low-cost, appropriate-grade materials for unit products
2. Accelerating local procurement that includes even materials for interior/exterior trim using kenaf
3. Renewing standards for exterior aesthetics and lower costs through bulk-ordering plastic materials
4. Quickening the pace of setting up a global management-framework.

-Responding to new issues (diminishing effects of rationalization initiatives, and increased overhead costs)

1. Sheet-business strategies: Optimize production framework to achieve strategies set for products worldwide
   
   • Consolidate production and enhance segregated production of JIT
   • Innovations in production technology that support optimum production (Realization of IoT, innovations in processes)
   • Reorganize by region
2. Reorganize production and logistics in Japan by region

-Initiatives for sustainable growth

1. Speed up developing new unit-product business
   • Increase sales of new business: fuel-cell vehicles (separators, etc.) and electric vehicles (motor cores, etc.)
   • The Company will develop automotive lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) by utilizing its precision press and separator technologies. It aims to realize reliable, high-capacity, high-output LiBs that will be quickly charged and discharged more than 30,000 times. It is planning the practical use of them for super sports car makers in and outside Japan in early 2020s. It set an operating profit target of JPY 10 to 20 billion for new business for FY 2025. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 17, 2018)
2. Small-car business (emerging countries)
   
   • Development of the following products is nearly completed: seat frames, devices, interior embellishments, light-weight unit products.
   • Making efficient use of production plants in emerging countries, strengthen sales offices, and expand sales to all OEMs.
   • In May 2019, the Company will open an office in Gurgaon City in the state of Haryana, India. The new office will be equipped with sales and development functions and propose seats and interior components while cooperating with automakers from the development stage of vehicles. With the new office, the Company intends to enhance sales activities in its compact vehicle business in India and other emerging nations. The name of the new office is Gurgaon Office, Toyota Boshoku Automotive India Private Limited. It will initially have nine employees. The Gurgaon Office will propose seat frames, functionality, and seat covers that suit the physique of users, safety standards, and other regional characteristics in emerging nations. Additionally, it will focus on market surveys and acquisition of new suppliers to strengthen its competitiveness for seats and interior components. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 10, 2019)
3. Advance product creation and innovations (smart, lean, flexible production plants)
4. Propose ideas for cabin-interior space in anticipation of self-driving vehicles (Drowsiness prevention systems, etc.)

-Breakdown of R&D expenses by region

• Japan: JPY 46,786 million
• North-Central-South America: JPY 178 million

R&D Structure

-The Company invested mainly in the new products and streamlining and updating the existing production facilities.

• Japan: 　JPY 27,348 million
• Americas: 　JPY 16,989 million
• Asia and Oceania: JPY 13,258 million
• Europe and Africa: JPY 3,743 million

1) Causes for lower income
-Japan: Changes to lineup of vehicle models
-Asia/Oceania: lower production volumes in Thailand, changes to lineup of vehicle models
-Europe/Africa: decrease in units

2) Causes for lower profits
-North-Central-South America: Cost increases in line with setting up production of new products
-Europe/Africa: lower production volumes and increased overhead expenses

>>>Forecast for next year