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5. Fujitsu Ten Limited Business Report up until FY ended Mar. 2015

Fujitsu Ten Limited Business Report up until FY ended Mar. 2015

Recent Years

Business Policy

-In its 2014 interim financial statements, the Company forecasts a deficit for the fiscal year ending in March 2015. In order to bring its business back to profitability by March 2016, the Company plans to enhance its profitability by sharing platforms for car navigation software with Alpine Electronics, Inc., while launching a cost-savings program for every process from designing to procuring. The share of overseas business of the Company's total sales exceeded 50% for the first time in this first half of FY 2014. In line with this sales growth, corporate income tax is also projected to increase. The Company aims to offset this payment by improving the cost competitiveness of both development and sales divisions. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on November 18, 2014)

Recent Development in Japan

Expanding millimeter-wave radar production capacity
-In April 2014, the Company announced that Fujitsu Ten Manufacturing will expand its capacity to manufacture millimeter-wave radars at its Nakatsugawa Plant in Gifu Prefecture. The plant's monthly capacity for the product will be tripled to 30,000 units by 2015.

Spin off its Japanese manufacturing division as an independent company
-In 2013, the Company announced that it will spin off its Japanese manufacturing division as an independent company, "Fujitsu Ten Manufacturing Limited," on January 1, 2014. The manufacturing bases that will be separated are the Nakatsugawa Plant in Nakatsugawa, Gifu, and Tochigi Fujitsu Ten Limited in Oyama, Tochigi. By establishing the new company, Fujitsu Ten intends to achieve three main objectives: 1) strengthen management and efficiency, 2) improve decision-making speed, and 3) increase competitiveness in the global market. Tochigi Fujitsu Ten Limited will be the surviving company as a result of the spin-off. The new company will be headquartered in Nakatsugawa, where the Nakatsugawa Plant is currently located. Nakatsugawa Plant and Tochigi Fujitsu Ten are currently manufacturing car electronic devices and car navigation systems respectively. There will be no major change in production items due to the corporate spin-off. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on November 16, 2013)

Major Awards

R&D Facilities

Technological Alliance

Codevelopment of operating system (OS) on "Android" platform
-In June 2014, the Company and Alpine Electronics, Inc. have reached a basic agreement to jointly develop an operating system (OS) for in-vehicle equipment including car navigation systems. By cutting the development costs of the OS, which is a non-competing field, the Company and Alpine intend to strengthen their profits. In addition, each company will allocate management resources to add unique functions in order to differentiate the companies' OSs. Installation of the new OS on vehicles will begin in two to three years. The Company announced also that it has become a member of the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA), which is a global alliance of technology and automotive companies committed to bringing Google's Android platform to cars.

Collaboration with Valeo on advanced safety systems
-In 2013, the Company and Valeo signed a technological partnership contract for the advanced automotive safety system development. The aim of the partnership is to jointly develop sensing technology to detect obstacles in the car's path by combining Fujitsu Ten's millimeter wave radar and Valeo's front camera. Merging the advantageous properties of the millimeter wave radar that is adept at identifying relative distance and detecting objects, and the camera that recognizes an object itself, the two companies will develop a highly accurate and reliable sensing technology unaffected by the external environment, including, weather, time of day, etc. (From a press release on November 14, 2013)

Product development

See-through view
-In Mar. 2015, the Company has developed a new see-through function for a surround view monitor. The see-through function shows a driver's perspective view of the vehicle's surroundings on a monitor as if the vehicle itself were transparent. Since the new function enables a driver to see blind spots around the car on the in-vehicle screen, it helps prevent an accident before the vehicle starts moving. The Company and Toyota Motor Corporation jointly developed the See-through View function based on the new function. The new "Alphard" and "Vellfire" adopt the See-through View function. The new function was developed as a display mode added to the Company's Multi-Angle Vision system which synthesizes images captured by four cameras. These cameras are mounted on a vehicle's front, back, left- and right-side door mirrors and display a 360-degree view around the vehicle. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on March 4, 2015)

"Future Link", an in-vehicle cloud-based information service
-In Oct. 2014, the Company announced that it will launch the Future Link, an in-vehicle cloud-based information service. Traffic and weather information, music, and SNS services will be provided via Fujitsu's cloud server. Initially, the Company will install a communication unit with a function to automatically renew map information on its new car navigation system. The Company aims to enhance added value of car navigation systems by enriching the link services. The new car navigation system scheduled for launch in early November will be fitted with a communication unit that uses 3G network of NTT DoCoMo. The unit has a full-time connection to Fujitsu's cloud center and can access to the latest map information and availability of parking lots. In addition, the unit enables prediction conversion of input characters and destination retrieval through inputs of multiple keywords, such as the name of the place and the category, by providing access to the database of facility information. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on October 16, 2014)

Coating less molded plastic for car navigation panel
-In 2014, the Company and Fujitsu Ten Technosepta Co., Ltd. jointly developed a new plastic molding technology for car navigation panel that offers a glossy surface without any coating. Introduction of this technology reduces the use of coating solvent to zero from 14 to 21 grams per unit. It also cuts down the use of energy needed in the coating and drying processes.

76-GHz millimeter radar
-In Oct. 2010, the Company announced that it has developed a new vehicle-mounted 76-GHz millimeter radar that is small in size, low in price and high in function with the aim of expanding application of the convenient system for enhancing safety from high-end models to compact vehicles and trucks. The new radar, which is planned to be supplied to automakers starting early in 2013, adopts an electronic scanning technology for the first time among the Company's forward detection radars and also has a simplified structure. A substantial decrease in the number of components has reduced dimensions to less than half of those of previous models and also made for lower cost. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on October. 20, 2010)

Multi angle vision system
-In April 2010, the Company announced that it has developed a multi angle vision system, the world's first technology which provides overhead three-dimensional images of a vehicle and its surroundings from various angles. The 3D images will be displayed on the in-vehicle car navigation screen in order to assist driving safety. The technology will be of great help especially when the driver is backing the car for parking or trying to make a turn at a hard-to-see intersection. The Company has already won contracts to supply the new system as a dealer option to the Toyota Prius and two other models. The technology uses four cameras, which are installed on front, rear of the vehicle and door mirrors on both sides. The images captured by these cameras will be processed by the electronic control unit (ECU) in real time into synthesized 3D images which include the vehicle surroundings and a line image of the vehicle based on computer graphics. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on April. 21, 2010)

LED backlight control technology
-In March 2010, the Company announced that it has developed light-emitting diode (LED) backlight control technology for the liquid crystal displays (LCDs) of car navigation and other in-vehicle equipment. The new technology offers a 40 percent reduction in power consumption levels compared with LCDs using normal backlighting systems. The improvement was made possible by controlling the backlight intensity according to the brightness levels of the projected image. Using the device also increases the contrast of the image. Fujitsu Ten is set to implement the proprietary technology to its LCD products and propose them to automakers and other customers. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on March. 3, 2010)

Investment Outside Japan

-In Aug. 2012, the Company announced that it will set up in October a manufacturing company for car audio and automobile electronic control systems in Indonesia, as well as a joint venture for sales with a local supplier. Automakers are vying for increasing production capacity in the country. The Company is set to enhance local supply capacity and increase deliveries to Toyota and Daihatsu in the market. The manufacturing subsidiary, PT Fujitsu Ten Manufacturing Indonesia, will be established with a 100% investment of IDR 200 billion by Fujitsu Ten. A new plant with a floor space of about 11,000 square meters will be constructed in the Bogor Regency of West Java and is expected to go into operation in July 2013. The factory will produce car audio equipment like CD tuners and display audio, as well as electronic control devices for engines and airbags. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on August 13, 2012)


-In May 2012, the Company and the NK Minda Group, an auto parts supplier in India, have agreed to establish manufacturing and sales joint-venture companies in India for car audio business. Production operation is scheduled to begin in April 2013. By establishing an integrated production structure consisting of development, designing and manufacturing, the Company intends to serve the fast growing auto industry in India. The NK Minda Group manufactures and sells automotive products such as lamps, batteries and door mirrors. The new production joint-venture, Fujitsu Ten Minda India Pvt. Ltd., will handle designing, development, and production of CD tuners, display audios, car navigation systems, and speakers for automobiles. It will be located at the Bawal Industrial District in Haryana. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 17, 2012)