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DENSO Develops New Alternator for F1


PHOTO (select to view enlarged photo)

Toyota's new F1 car, 'TF105,' to use the alternator

TOKYO, Feb. 3 -- DENSO Corporation, parent company of Southfield, Mich.-based DENSO International America, Inc., today announced that it has developed a new alternator for Formula 1 (F1) racing. This alternator will be installed in the new "TF105" F1 racecar of the Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 Team this season.

The alternator generates alternating currents at the stator coil when the rotor is turned by the engine.

"We significantly reduced the size of the rotor as well as the stator by adopting a new magnet structure for the rotor and a new cooling structure for the rotor and stator," said Mineo Hanai, managing officer of DENSO Corporation in charge of the Electric Systems Business Group. "That allowed us to reduce the overall size and weight of the alternator."

DENSO is supplying small, light and efficient alternators for a variety of vehicles including passenger cars, motorcars and trucks. In this product field, DENSO has captured the world's number one market share since 1988.

DENSO joined the Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 Team as a corporate sponsor in 2004. Several DENSO products including spark plug, radiator and oil cooler were used in last season's Toyota F1 car, the "TF104."

DENSO Corporation, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global supplier of advanced technology, systems and components. Its customers include all the world's major carmakers. Worldwide, the company employs 95,000 people in 31 countries and regions, including Japan. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004 totaled US$24.2 billion. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya stock exchanges. For more information, go to http://www.globaldenso.com/ .

In the Americas (North, Central and South America), DENSO employs 14,000 people at 33 companies. Consolidated sales for the Americas for the above fiscal year totaled US$5.3 billion. For more information, see http://www.densocorp-na.com/ .