DENSO Expands North American Heavy Duty Research and Development

SOUTHFIELD, MI -- April 15, 2015: In an effort to help grow DENSO's global heavy duty business, the company is expanding its North American research and development capabilities to include heavy duty and commercial vehicles. DENSO established a cross-functional team of market research, product engineering, and researchers that will focus on bringing-to-market products that improve fuel efficiency, expand connectivity and safety, and promote electrification of commercial vehicles. Staff will be located in Southfield and San Diego, California to support with this effort.

"North America has a strong leadership base for heavy duty technology and DENSO believes there is an opportunity to diversify our business base in this market segment," said Patrick Powell, DENSO International Director. "In the not-so-distant future, new fuel economy and greenhouse gas regulations will drive change into the heavy duty area. And the market will continue to transition into higher levels of connectivity. DENSO is well positioned to successfully support these technologies."

N.A. Localization and Leadership

With an increased focus on heavy duty research and development in North America, DENSO sees this as an important step forward in developing heavy duty products in the region and for the region. In addition, as fuel economy and emissions regulations in the U.S. are more advanced, DENSO expects its North American operations to lead its global heavy duty efforts.

About DENSO Corporation:

DENSO Corporation, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global automotive supplier of advanced technology, systems and components in the areas of thermal, powertrain control, electronics and information and safety. Its customers include all the world's major carmakers. Worldwide, the company has more than 200 subsidiaries and affiliates in 38 countries and regions (including Japan) and employs nearly 140,000 people. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, totaled US$39.8 billion. Last fiscal year, DENSO spent 9.0 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges.