Gentex Mirrors In Korea

ZEELAND, Mich.--Gentex Corp. has begun shipping interior automatic-dimming mirrors to South Korea for Ssangyong Motor Co.’s Musso and new Korando, two 4x4 SUV-type vehicles manufactured and marketed in Korea.

Gentex’s base automatic-dimming mirror is standard on the Musso and Korando. The mirrors are shipped to Schefenacker Poong Jeong Ltd., the company that supplies mirror systems to Ssangyong, and has been an exclusive Gentex partner since 1993.

“The Musso and Korando are great vehicles, powered by Mercedes-Benz engines,” said Gentex Executive Vice President Ken La Grand. “These are large, new programs for Gentex and, as such, they typify the growing demand for our mirrors in Asia. Our Asian sales are currently growing at approximately 80 percent a year, and we see this trend continuing for the next several years.”

Gentex estimates that its automatic-dimming rearview mirrors can be found on nearly 15 percent of the vehicles sold domestically in Korea. The company has launched seven new mirror programs there in the last two years, and its mirrors can be found on vehicles in virtually every segment of the market, including luxury vehicles, midsize sedans, minivans, trucks and SUVs. Shipments to Korea in 2000 topped 120,000 units.

“Korea and the Asian market in general hold great potential for us,” said La Grand. “It’s adopting our technology in a manner and rate similar to that of the North American marketplace back in the late ‘80s when we first introduced our electrochromic, automatic-dimming mirror products.”

Gentex’s Night Vision Safety Mirrors are an active crash-avoidance safety feature, he said. They automatically darken to reduce glare from the headlamps of vehicles approaching from the rear. The brighter the glare, the darker the mirrors become, making nighttime driving safer, La Grand added.

Gentex aftermarket/distributor customers include Gulf States Toyota Distributors, Mito Corp., Southeast Toyota Distributors, Subaru Distributors NE and Toyota Motor Sales USA. OEM customers include Audi, Bentley, BMW, Daewoo, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia Motors, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Porsche, Rover, Rolls Royce and Toyota.

For more information, contact www.gentex.com.