Neusoft and Alpine Join Hands to Tap Auto Electronics Market

Alpine Electronics ( China ) Co., Ltd. Dalian R&D Center & Neusoft Auto Electronics R&D Center Dalian was officially launched

On June 16, Alpine Electronics ( China ) Co., Ltd. Dalian R&D Center & Neusoft Auto Electronics R&D Center Dalian was officially launched. That the two giants join forces to tap the auto electronics market is seen as a new milestone set up in the long-term cooperation journey between the two companies.

The cooperation between Neusoft and Alpine started in 1989, when the precursor of Neusoft, Softwe R&D Center of Northeastern Institute of Engineering and Alpine jointly established Neu-Alpine Software Research Institute (Co., Ltd.). The business area of the institute includes software development and design for auto simulation testing environment and later expands to software development and design for car audio and car navigation systems as well as information and communication systems.

Alpine has attached great importance to building the development and design mechanism for its China R&D Center, and had some of the car audio design and car navigation design and development projects done in China. Now the newly established R&D center in Dalian will focus on the development of car audio model for global market and car navigation system for Chinese market. The car navigation system for China market is planned to be launched to the market in the spring of 2005.

According to CCID market report, in 2003, the total value of global auto electronics market reached 115 billion dollars, an 8.1% increase over the same period last year, while the Chinese market has achieved a sales volume of 30.04 billion yuan for auto electronics products. It is estimated that by 2006, the demand from auto electronics market will amount to 78 billion yuan. Facing such a huge market in China, many multinational companies adjusted their target to this attractive cake of Chinese auto electronics market, and Alpine has begun to tap the great development potential of Chinese auto electronics market by collaborating with Neusoft.

President Seizo Ishiguro of Alpine Co., Ltd. said, “The mission of Alpine Dalian R&D Center is to become China's leading design and development center for auto electronics, and another important development base established after its development bases in Japan. The functions and scale of the Center will be rapidly expanded with the continued development of the center.”

Chairman and CEO Dr. Liu Jiren of Neusoft Group said that, the cooperation between Alpine and Neusoft had witnessed the development course of China IT industry. In the past ten years, the two parties had conducted fruitful cooperation in strategic investment and in auto electronics area. Alpine is a global leading auto electronic products provider, while Neusoft has great expertise and experience in embedded software development, particularly in auto electronic software development, and the complementarity in resource and technology of the two parties laid solid foundation for their successful cooperation in auto electronics area. Currently, Neusoft has more than 400 software engineers engaged in auto electronics design and development and thus formed a powerful development team for Alpine auto electronic product development.

Alpine Electronics（China）Co., Ltd. Dalian R&D Center is located in Neusoft Dalian Software Park with 400 technicians, and is planning to increase its employee number to 750 by 2006 in order to enhance its technology capability and development efficiency. The Center will be composed of departments responsible for overall system design, hardware and software design, and domestic components insourcing. After the products are designed, they will be manufactured in factories in Dandong, Dalian and Taicang of China, and then exported to the global market.

On the ceremony, Alpine and Neusoft also jointly announced the establishment of Neusoft and Alpine Research Institute for Auto Electronics High Technology. The institute will be focusing on the research areas of combining in-car platforms with open IT technology, China future market oriented core technology R&D and high technology for future global market. The institute hopes to be able to develop the most advanced in-car electronic system through research on the high technology and core technology for future in-car information and communication electronics system.

Neusoft and Alpine share the same goal of leading the future auto electronics development trend and have set up short-term to long-term plans to attain this goal. The short-term goal is to research on in-car multi-media platform in order to create an environment integrating entertainment, information, and office functions for autos. The mid-term goal is to integrate this platform with other in-car electronics systems aided by intelligent man-machine interface in order to provide safe and convenient driving environment for users. And the long-term goal is to develop core technology for future auto electronic systems and to contribute to the standardization of auto electronics globally.

Government officials and experts from National Ministry of Science and Technology, Liaoning Province, and Dalian city attended the ceremony. Executive leaders from both home and overseas auto manufacturers as well as representatives from auto sales stations and component manufacturers totaling more than 200 people were also present at the launch ceremony.