DENSO International America :Takeuchi Promoted to Chair and CEO; Matsushita Named President and COO

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., July 1 -- DENSO International America, Inc., North American headquarters for Japan-based DENSO Corporation, today announced that its president and chief executive officer (CEO), Mitsunobu Takeuchi, will move up to chair and CEO, effective July 1, 2002.

Mitsuo Matsushita, former executive vice president of DENSO Europe, B.V., was appointed president and chief operating officer (COO), effective July 1, 2002.

Both are directors on DENSO Corporation's Board of Directors, Takeuchi since 1995 and Matsushita since 2001.

Takeuchi, who contributed to the company's worldwide expansion as one of DENSO's earliest pioneers in overseas business, has 38 years of international business expertise with DENSO, much of it in North America.

In 1997, when Takeuchi was appointed president of DENSO International America, North American consolidated sales totaled US$ 2.5 billion with 8,800 employees at 14 locations. Today, consolidated sales for the Americas (North America, Central America and South America) have climbed to US$ 4.8 billion with 14,000 employed by DENSO in North America.

At DENSO International America, Takeuchi founded the DENSO North America Foundation, a non-profit, charitable organization which awards grants to institutions of higher learning, and the DENSO Oakland Schools Educational Foundation which has awarded more than $70,000 in scholarships to Oakland students. Takeuchi serves on the Board of Directors for both the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and The Economic Club of Detroit. He holds a degree in international trading from Kanagawa University in Yokohama, Japan.

In his new role as president and COO, Matsushita will manage DENSO International America, mainly focusing on customer relationships with U.S.- based car manufacturers.

As executive vice president at DENSO Europe, he helped lead expansion of DENSO's European business including the acquisition of DENSO Manufacturing Italia S.p.A. in 1999 and DENSO Thermal Systems S.P.A. in 2001. During Matsushita's tenure, consolidated European sales sharply increased from US$ 1.29 billion to an expected US$ 1.8 billion in 2002.

Earlier in his career, Matsushita spent five years working at DENSO International America as a sales executive. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Kanazawa University in Ishikawa prefecture, Japan.

DENSO employs 87,000 people in 30 countries. Global consolidated sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2002 totaled US$ 18.1 billion. The North American DENSO Group operates 25 companies, joint ventures and affiliates.

DENSO stock is traded on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya stock exchanges. For more information, see www.globaldenso.com and click on North America.