Marelli

　Next year will be the 80th anniversary of Calsonic Kansei's founding. We take pride in the fact that for 80 years, we have supported Japan and the world's automobile industry with a passion for Monozukuri.

　Motorsports are a symbolic effort that has supported the development of our technologies. We have been supporting "CALSONIC TEAM IMPUL" continuously since 1982, and so this year will be the 36th. This is the longest title sponsor in the world of motorsports (according to an internal survey).

　This year, with the 80th anniversary imminent, has been a major turning point for Calsonic Kansei. In May, KKR, an investment fund based in the United States acquired all of Calsonic Kansei's shares. We left the Nissan group and have been reborn as a truly independent Monozukuri company.

　Our more than 20,000 employees worldwide, including myself, see this as an opportunity for further growth. With this being the first time in 10 years since exhibiting at the Tokyo Motor Show, we made this decision based on our desire to have everyone experience our 80-year history and enthusiasm for Monozukuri.

　In September, we announced a new medium-term business plan called "Compass 2021". This plan aims for us to develop products and services with even greater value by 2021, aiming for value-added sales of 750 billion yen.

　Under "Compass 2021", we are developing inimitable products that are unique to CK. This time, we introduced a new product that dramatically improved the weight saving and catalyst temperature rise by converting the turbine housing into sheet metal. It is the world's first such product for diesel engine vehicles. We named this product "CK-SMiTH" using the initials from "Calsonic Kansei Sheet Metal innovative Turbine Housing."

　In addition, we will not only develop and produce automotive parts, but we will actively try new things.

　A representative example of this is leading the development of cyber security technology in the automotive field. Although the spread of autonomous driving makes things more convenient, there is concern that the risks to society as a whole will increase. In order to solve this social problem, we established the WHITE MOTION LLC company specializing in cyber security in the automotive field together with Quarkslab of France in July of this year.

　"Changing [the world] from inside of vehicles." This goal refers to "cabin innovation that brings joy and even emotion" and "ultimate energy management." We aimed for an exhibit full of these ideas at this year's Tokyo Motor Show.

　The automotive industry is entering an era of disruptive change with the advancement of electrification, autonomous driving, and full-scale spread of connectivity. However, we believe this disruption is an opportunity.

　The passion of Monozukuri that has been handed down continuously for 80 years, and new product development unique to the new Calsonic Kansei. With these two strengths as our weapons, we will continue to make aggressive proposals that exceed the expectations of all automobile manufacturers by bringing together the collective energy of more than 20,000 employees.

　With independence and initiative, the existence we aim for is "Changing [the world] from inside of vehicles."

　Watch for the new Calsonic Kansei in the future.