Delays in the supply chain have lead JVCKENWOOD to transfer the production of its Japanese-market car navigation radios from Indonesia to Japan.
This follows the company’s recent transfer of some of its aftermarket car audio production out of China.
The radios, called the Saisoku-Navi line, will move from a JVCKENWOOD factory in Indonesia to the company’s Nagano Corp. facility in Japan, starting in January to shorten delivery times and help keep costs down, said JVCKENWOOD. Again, these radios are for the Japanese aftermarket.
Saisoku-Navi radios are similar to high end Excelon models with the main exception of different navigation systems. Also Sasioku-Navi radios have an interesting slider on the side of the screen that turns a 2D navigation view into a 3D view where the buildings seem to “pop out” for a more realistic city view. (To see more on Saisoku-Navi you will need to translate this page, which can be done in a Chrome browser: https://www.kenwood.com/jp/car/car-navi/ ).
The company said it is transferring production to Japan due to “geopolitical risks” stemming from COVID, including “disruptions in supply chains including logistics, shortage of parts supply due to deteriorating supply-demand balance of semiconductors, and trade friction between the U.S. and China. There is also a need to strengthen measures for vehicle cyber security that will be important in the future as automated driving becomes mainstream in society.”
Additionally, production of JVCKENWOOD navigation radios for Japanese OEMs will be transferred from Shanghai to the same Nagano factory. The company plans to increase production from the current 100,000 units to 500,000 units (but no time frame was specified for those unit production levels).
All in all, the factory transfers are designed to “maximize product supply efficiency by shortening the lead time from production to sales and strengthening cost competitiveness through local production for local consumption… At the same time, the Company aims to expand the business with automakers in Japan by consolidating production at JK Nagano, which is a designated factory of domestic automakers,” JVCKENWOOD announced.
source: https://www.ceoutlook.com/2021/11/04/fyi-jvckenwood-moves-japan-radio-production/
