Hitachi to Set up New High-Pressure Fuel Pump Factory in Sachsen, Germany

	

Hitachi to Set up New High-Pressure Fuel Pump Factory in Sachsen,
Germany



Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 30, 2003 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi, Ltd.
today announced that it is to establish a new factory in
Sachen, Germany, for the production of mainly high-pressure fuel pumps*,
a core component of gasoline direct injection engines for automotive
applications, whose demand is expected to grow. This new factory will be
set up under Hitachi Automotive Systems Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of
Hitachi, Ltd. Construction is to start in November 2003 and production
is scheduled to start in January 2005.

The high-pressure fuel pump market is expected to continue growing due
to increasingly strict environmental regulations in Europe related to
the automobile industry. Car manufacturers need to introduce more
fuel-efficient engines utilizing direct injection technology. Hitachi
estimates the market for high-pressure fuel pumps for gasoline direct
injection will increase from 0.2 million units in 2002 to 3.8 million
units in 2009.

Hitachi understands that local production is essential for the promotion
of the pump in Europe. The new factory will target a turnover of 5
billion yen in 2007.

Hitachi already has one factory for automotive products in Europe,
Hitachi Automotive Products Europe Ltd. This factory will continue to
produce mainly electronic products and the new factory will produce
mechatronic products for automotive applications to expand the business
in Europe.

* High-Pressure fuel pump
A pump to supply fuel to fuel injection equipment at high pressure.

About the New Factory

Factory name: Hitachi Automotive Systems Europe GmbH. Sachsen Works 
Factory Manager: Mineo Kashiwaya (Currently Hitachi Ltd., Automotive
Systems Executive Staff to President) 
Location: Rosswein, Sachsen, Germany 
Production: Scheduled for January 2005 (Construction begins November
2003) 
Products: High-pressure fuel pumps for gasoline direct injection, etc. 
Turnover: Around 5 billion yen in 2007 
Employees: Around 70 in 2007