2. DENSO Kotei Automotive Electronics (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. established
On May 30, 2018, Cao Guangjing, Deputy Governer of Hubei Province, met with Yukihiro Kato, Senior Executive Director, and other DENSO officials. This was the first visit by an executive of DENSO to a province in central China, the purpose being to promote automotive-related investment and technical cooperation in Hubei. Mr. Kato visited the province’s Wuhan KOTEI Co., Ltd. and decided to establish a joint venture (DENSO Kotei Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd.) with it. On September 28 that year, Wuhan KOTEI Informatics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “Kotei”) and DENSO held a strategic joint venture agreement signing ceremony in Wuhan, and DENSO Kotei Automotive Electronics (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “DNKT”) was established.
The opening ceremony for DNKT was held on April 23, 2019 in the Donghu Hi-Tech Zone, a new technology development zone in Wuhan. In December, the company received an order to develop the software for a 12.3 inch digital meter for Toyota Motor Corporation in China, adopting DNKT’s previously developed R-Car E3 core isolation system. This joint venture between DENSO and Kotei is currently registered in the Donghu Hi-Tech Zone where it has established an office.
The cooperation between Kotei and DENSO has been long term, with Kotei becoming DENSO’s partner in China in 2012 and jointly undertaking the development of car electronics products such as navigation map development and meter software development. In this joint venture, both parties have jointly invested 100 million yuan as Tier1 business funds for DNKT. They have teamed up to research and develop intelligent cockpit products for the Chinese market, entering the Chinese market with car electronics products centered around cockpit products. They aim to maximize competitiveness in software development and also contribute to Denso's global development. DNKT is also focusing its efforts on research and development in intelligent cockpits and smart mobility, aiming to achieve safer, smarter, and more outstanding mobility. In the future, leveraging the strengths of both parties' resources, they will develop innovative products with Chinese characteristics, redefine the next-generation cockpit, lead the trend of product differentiation through software-led technological innovation, and create new frontiers in mobility.