1. Responding to Internationalization

Today, DENSO operates as a global enterprise in major markets around the world. Achieving this status required years of struggle in various regions, but our focus on overseas markets began very early, even when our corporate strength was still developing.

Regarding exports, our technical cooperation agreement with Robert Bosch GmbH imposed restrictions on exports to countries where Bosch had operations. The situation changed in 1963 when we renewed our ten-year partnership with Bosch. Through negotiations during the contract renewal, we succeeded in significantly easing these export restrictions.

Anticipating these changes, we had already taken proactive steps by establishing a small “Export Section” at our headquarters the previous year. We began by supplying spare parts for exported Japanese cars.

Our initial overseas ventures targeted the largest automotive market, the United States, and the Asia-Pacific region, where Japanese cars were dominant.

Despite this unfavorable situation, our management's strong resolve led to the establishment of the office. With deepening ties with Robert Bosch GmbH, our executives were increasingly eager for our company to gain recognition in overseas markets and hoped to achieve direct transactions with U.S. car manufacturers.

In the U.S. market, the renewal of the partnership agreement with Robert Bosch GmbH in 1963 made it possible to export directly through our local subsidiary. Although direct delivery to the Big Three automakers was still more of a dream than a concrete plan, our executives laid the groundwork for future substantial exports.

Following the Chicago office, we sequentially opened branches in Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York. In 1971, we established our first overseas subsidiary, “Nippondenso of Los Angeles” (now DENSO Products and Service Americas), marking the beginning of our car air conditioning exports.

By the late 1970s, we actively expanded our distribution channels beyond car dealerships to include repair shops, parts dealers, retail stores, and gas stations in the U.S.

Another crucial mission of our U.S. operations was to accumulate the experience and know-how necessary for managing overseas enterprises in anticipation of a future era of significant international business expansion.

Although production in this region was still limited to knock-down assembly, Japanese automakers had already started local production early on. As the automotive manufacturing industry took root, local governments began implementing “localization regulations” that required the local procurement of automotive parts. The aim was to enhance the added value of local production, rather than merely continuing with assembly operations.

In this context, we received requests from automakers to establish a local presence, leading us to decide to enter the Thai market.

Despite it being the 1970s, the investment climate was cautious due to the remaining political instability. Additionally, the Thai automotive market was still small, with annual sales only in the tens of thousands, raising concerns about the viability of local production. Furthermore, regulations mandated that a majority shareholding had to be held by local capital, making it challenging to find reliable partners. Attractive conditions were scarce. Our entry into Thailand was a bold decision made amidst these circumstances.

Following Thailand, we established production and sales companies in Australia and later in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia by the mid-1980s.