DENSO Named a Winner of 10th Annual Automotive News PACE Award

For Its Very High-Pressure, Solenoid Fuel-Injection System (1800-Bar Common Rail System)

DETROIT, March 9 -- DENSO Corporation, parent company of Southfield, Mich.-based DENSO International America, Inc., was named a winner in the Product Innovation category of the 10th annual Automotive News PACE Awards. Last night's 2004 Automotive News PACE Awards Ceremony took place at the Detroit Opera House.

DENSO received the award for its very high-pressure, solenoid fuel- injection system (or 1800-Bar Common Rail System), which reduces pollutants from vehicle exhaust gas while increasing engine power.

"Thank you for this world-class honor," said Hiromi Tokuda, director, Diesel Injection Product Division and Gasoline Injection Product Division, and member of the Board, DENSO Corporation, in accepting the award. "Innovation is exactly what has made DENSO a DENSO. We plan to continuously contribute to the industry -- long into the future."

About DENSO's entry, the PACE Award program said, "In diesel engines, high fuel pressures give greater control over noise, emissions, power and fuel economy. DENSO's second-generation system uses a new lightweight supply pump that generates pressure of more than 26,000 psi. The injectors that squirt fuel into the cylinders are fed from a single tube -- the 'common rail' -- and can deliver 0.0004-second bursts rapidly enough to allow up to five injection pulses per cylinder per cycle. This brings precise control of fuel burning and quiets a diesel engine's typical rattle. The system is in place on the Mazda MPV and Mazda 6 in Europe."

DENSO's leadership in diesel common rail technology is unsurpassed in the industry. In 1995, DENSO launched the world's first diesel common rail injection system for trucks. The following year, it began supplying diesel common-rail injection systems for passenger cars. And, in 2002, DENSO developed its diesel common rail system with 1800-bar injection pressure, the highest in the world, with multiple injection capability. It was this innovation that won DENSO the PACE Award.

This year, there were 11 PACE Award winners from a field of 23 finalists. Program categories included the following: Product Innovation, Product - Europe, Manufacturing Process and Capital Equipment, and Information Technology. DENSO's winning entry was in the Product category.

PACE stands for Premier Automotive Suppliers' & OEMs Contributions to Excellence, and the award recognizes innovative automotive suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) that have adapted to keep on top of the changing landscape of automobile manufacturing. Judging is conducted by an independent panel of experts comprised from academia as well as the commercial side of the auto industry. The PACE Award program was established in 1994 by Automotive News and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGE&Y), and has become a significant industry credential.

The annual competition is sponsored by Automotive News, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, and the Transportation Research Center, Inc.

DENSO Corporation, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global supplier of advanced technology, systems and components. Worldwide, the company employs 90,000 people in 31 countries and regions, including Japan. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya stock exchanges in Japan. In the Americas (North, Central and South America), DENSO employs 14,000 people at 32 companies. For more information about DENSO, please visit www.globaldenso.com .

More information about the PACE Award can be found at www.autonews.com