In the last two months, DENSO Corp. has been very busy, aggressively promoting its products and restructuring its company.
Most recently, DENSO released its new 2012 Wiper Blade catalog (No. WB-CAT-1111) featuring its First Time Fit wiper blade line. The expanded catalog includes more than 930 new applications for model year 2011 vehicles.
Also included in the catalog is expanded coverage for DENSO’s original equipment designer style wiper blade line, launched in 2009 for late model Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The Designer line has more than 5,000 additional vehicle applications covering more than 100 million vehicles on the road today.
The catalog covers automotive, light truck and van applications with wiper blade sizes ranging from 12 inches to 28 inches long. For more information, visit www.densocorp-na-dsca.com.
DENSO also jointly developed a home energy management system (HEMS) with Toyota Housing Corp. and Misawa Homes Co. Ltd. The HEMS has functions that work with plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles. It will be available in the Japanese market in or after February 2012.
“As plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles become more widespread, we recognized that it’s possible to realize a more environmentally friendly society by connecting and coordinating these types of vehicles and home energy usage,” says Koji Kobayashi, executive vice president of DENSO Corp.
DENSO’s HEMS consists of a control unit and a seven-inch touch panel monitor, installed inside the house. The monitor shows real-time power consumption, helping to remind users to turn off appliances when they are not in use, which also helps them better manage electricity.
The monitor also can:
* show electricity consumption in terms of cost and the amount of CO2 emissions that are emitted;
* collects historical data, which helps encourage users to be more aware of saving energy; and
* prevents the circuit breaker from tripping when there is a high electric load.
When the HEMS is connected to an external information center, it allows users to remotely check and switch on and off some home appliances from their Smartphones.
DENSO showed off its latest technologies at the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show, held at the Tokyo International Exhibition Center Dec. 3-11, 2011. The company’s main exhibit was Resonance 2021, a cockpit simulator envisioned for the 2021 automotive society. It is designed around the concept of offering optimal systems in a society where people, vehicles and society are safely connected with information communication technologies.
The Resonance 2021 exhibit allowed visitors to experience how people, vehicles, and communities will "connect" to each other in real time to make driving more convenient and enjoyable.
In November, DENSO consolidated its eight Japanese sales companies and its group company, DENSO Ace Corp., in an effort to “improve our products and services to customers and expand our automotive aftermarket and non-automotive businesses,” says Kobayashi. The new company, tentatively named DENSO Sales Japan Corp., will go into operation on April 1, 2012.
For information on DENSO’s activities at the recent AAPEX (Automomotive Aftermarket Parts Expo) as Vegas, Nev., click here.
