Hitachi Cable to Expand Automotive Sales Rate to 20%

Hitachi Cable tries to expand the automobile products to 20% of the total consolidated sales compared with around 10% in fiscal 2006 ending March 2007. The firm already announced the target of 80 billion yen of the sales for the unit in fiscal 2010 ending March 2011 from 56.5 billion yen in fiscal 2006. The firm expands the business mainly for magnet wire, brake hose and wiring harness for hybrid energy vehicle. The firm doubles the automobile products rate of magnet wire output from current 30%. Hitachi Cable’s automobile business has 4 core areas including brake and other hose, magnet wire, automotive electric component including wiring harness and high performance materials including copper strip and rolled copper foil. The firm posted 18.2 billion yen of sales for magnet wire, 17.9 billion yen for hose products, 11.8 billion yen for high performance materials and 8.6 billion yen for electric component. The firm expands the output rate of automotive magnet wire to 50-60% of total output in medium term though the firm now supplies the products mainly for motors of air conditioner, refrigerator system and transformer. Motor vehicle uses more magnet wire with more electric control system and components and hybrid car increases the market share. The firm tries to catch the trend by supplying high grade magnet wire. The firm expands the brake hose output capacity to annual 50 million units and the world market share to 20% in fiscal 2010 from current 13%. The firm expands the wiring harness output for hybrid car at US plant in Indiana for 1 billion yen.