JTEKT Corporation Established Joint Venture in India for The Manufacture of Electric Power Steering

JTEKT Corporation Established Joint Venture in India for The Manufacture of Electric Power Steering JTEKT Corporation has established a new joint venture, JTEKT Sona Automotive India Ltd. (JSAI), in India for the manufacture of electric power steering in partnership with Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. (SKSS). Manufacturing operations at JSAI, which is located in the Bawal Industrial Area within the Indian state of Haryana, are scheduled to start in January 2010. JTEKT owns 51% of the joint venture, and SKSS (also is located in Haryana and in which JTEKT holds a 20.1% share) owns 49%. The total amount of investment in JSAI is approximately 3.5 billion yen, and sales are projected to reach approximately 9 billion yen in 2010. India's automotive market is growing at a rapid pace, but at the same time concern in India over environmental issues is also growing. As a result, it is believed that demand in India for electric power steering (EPS), which contributes to improved vehicle fuel efficiency, will continue to expand. EPS application rates in Japan and Europe, where awareness of environmental issues is high and compact cars form a large part of the automotive market, have reached approximately 50%, and it is predicted that other world regions will follow this growing trend toward application of EPS. JTEKT's involvement in the Indian steering market began in 1985 with the execution of a technical assistance agreement with SKSS. In 1992 JTEKT took an equity stake in SKSS and since that time has been expanding its presence in the Indian automotive market. The two companies decided to form a joint venture this time to handle expanding demand in particular for column-type EPS for small-and medium-sized vehicles. Currently the JTEKT Group has two plants in Japan, three plants in Europe, two plants in North America, one plant in China, and one plant in Thailand that are either manufacturing or preparing to manufacture EPS, and therefore JSAI will become the 10th EPS manufacturing plant within the JTEKT Group. JTEKT will continue strengthening its global network of EPS production bases with the aim of contributing to improved vehicle fuel efficiency and driving safety on a worldwide basis. Including both hydraulic and EPS steering plants, the JTEKT Group has four plants in Japan and a total of 22 plants worldwide (excluding JSAI).