Value Creation Story

Business Overview

ESG Activities

Corporate Information

900

The KOITO Group's History

800600The foundation of KOITO began in 1915 with the development andproduction of the Japanʼs ﬁrst fresnel lenses for railway signal lamps.

500

Since then, we have been contributing to the safe and comfortable

400

society by developing lighting equipment for all kinds of transports,

300

including automobiles, railways and even aircraft and ships.

200

Net sales (billion yen)

700

1001915

1950

Founding Period 1915−1945
1915

1970

1980

Post-war Recovery and Developing Period 1946−1980

1990

200002010

2022 (FY)

Expanding Period 1981−1999

To be a “Global No.1 Supplier” 2000−Present
2001 Koito Czech s.r.o. established (Czech Republic)
2003 Production and sales of the worldʼs ﬁrst swivel AFS begins

1949

KOITO MANUFACTURING listed on both the Tokyo andOsaka Stock Exchange

1981

Production and sales of the worldʼs ﬁrst plastic lensheadlamps begins

1930 Koito Genrokuro Shoten becomes
KOITO MANUFACTURING

1955

Enacted1983

North American Lighting, Inc. established (Illinois, U.S.A.)

1935 Shinagawa Plant opens (Tokyo, Japan)

1985

1968

Chicago Representative Ofﬁce opens (Illinois, U.S.A.)“Innovative ideas and decisive action” corporate slogan
introduced

2005 Fuzhou Tayih Industrial Co., Ltd. becomes a KOITO subsidiary (China)
KOITO KYUSHU LIMITED established (Saga, Japan)
GUANGZHOU KOITO AUTOMOTIVE LAMP CO., LTD. established (China)

1970

Headquarters building completed (Minato-ku, Tokyo)

1986

1972

Aircraft equipment and electronics plant opens(Shizuoka, Japan)

THAI KOITO COMPANY LIMITED established (Thailand)
Sagara Plant opens (Shizuoka, Japan)

2012

1988

Capital interest in Ta Yih Industrial Co., Ltd. acquired (Taiwan)

1977

Haibara Plant opens (Shizuoka, Japan)

1990

Production and sales of projector headlamps begins

1979

Production and sales of Japanʼs ﬁrst aerodynamic-typeheadlamps begins

1992

Fujikawa Tooling Plant opens (Shizuoka, Japan)

1996

Capital interest in Britax Vega Limited acquired (U.K.)

1997

Technical Center opens in Shizuoka Plant (Shizuoka, Japan)
INDIA JAPAN LIGHTING PRIVATE LIMITED established (India)

1999

Britax Vega Limited becomes Koito Europe Limited

Koito Genrokuro Shoten founded (Kyobashi, Tokyo)
Fresnel lenses for railway signal lamps introduced

1936 KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. incorporated(capital 2.5 million yen)1943 Shizuoka Plant opens (Shizuoka, Japan)

1915

Koito Genrokuro Shoten foundedFounder Genrokuro Koito founded Koito Genrokuro
Shoten in Kyobashi-ku, Tokyo (current Kyobashi,Chuo-ku, Tokyo) to sell fresnel lenses for railway
signal lamps, which he succeeded in the Japanʼs ﬁrst
production in 1912.

1936

Entering the automotive lighting equipment business

Based on KOITOʼs experience in supplying headlamps to military
motorc ycle with side c ar s c alled “ Kurogane” in 1932 andthree-wheeled trucks in 1933, KOITO has started to produce
headl amps for four- whe ele d vehicle s . We have supplie dheadlamps for the AA passenger cars to the automotive department of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. (current ToyotaMotor Corporation) in 1936. This commemorates KOITOʼsparticipation in automotive lighting equipment business, which
contributes to safe and comfortable automotive society.

1950

Semi-sealed beam headlamps developed

Focusing on the brightness of U.S.-made all-glass
sealed beam headlamps, KOITO has developed andsucceeded in commercializing semi-sealed beamheadlamps in August 1950. Until all-glass SB wasdevelope d , s emi-s eale d b eam headl amps wereadopted in various domestic automobiles.

61960

KOITO INTEGRATED REPORT 2022

trademark1961 Transferred a head ofﬁce to Minato-ku, Tokyo

2010 PT. INDONESIA KOITO established (Indonesia)

North American Lighting Mexico, S.A. de C.V. established (Mexico)

2014 Hubei Koito Automotive Lamp Co., Ltd. established (China)
2015 KOITO celebrates its 100th anniversary

2017 NAL do Brasil Indústria e Comércio de Componentes de Iluminação Ltda.
established (Brazil)
KOITO MALAYSIA SDN. BHD. established (Malaysia)
2019 Capital interest in BrightWay Vision Ltd. acquired (Israel)
2020

Capital interest in Cepton Technologies, Inc. acquired (U.S.A.)KI HOLDINGS CO., LTD. absorbed and merged
KOITO Development Center opens (Aichi, Japan)

2022

Transitioned to Prime Market following the market
reorganization of the Tokyo Stock Exchange

1957

1979

Since 1951, KOITO has been developing all-glass SB headlamps withhigher luminous ﬂux than SSB headlamps. As a result of repeated trial
manufacture and improvement, KOITO succeeded in its commercialization in 1957. KOITO then started supplying the products to various
automotive manufacturers, including Toyota Motor Company(current Toyota Motor Corporation), from October 1957.

KOITO has begun developing uniquely shaped headlamps (a kind of SSB headlamps), which are shaped
to ﬁt individual vehicle designs. These lamps started
to be installed in the Nissan Skyline and the Toyota
Crown in June 1979.

1975

1985

2014

Cleaning dirt on headlamps is crucial for ensuring safety, and relevant regulations were started to drawn up in Europe. KOITO has develo p e d j e t- t y p e h e a dl a m p w a s h e r s , a n d i t s
installation to export vehicles began in August
1975.

As a result of steady efforts on headlampsʼ resiniﬁcation to reduce weight and improve design, KOITO has
succeeded in developing plastic lenses and a BMC
reﬂector with even higher heat resistance and molding accuracy in 1981. In Januar y 1985, the worldʼsﬁrst all-resin aerodynamic-type headlamp was adopted in Toyota Motor “Soara.”

KOITO has star ted producing and selling the worldʼsﬁrst LED Compact-Bi-function, capable of switching
hi g h b e a m a n d l o w b e a m w i t h a s i n g l e L ED a n dachieved lower power consumption and weight compared to conventional lamp units. In November 2014,
it was installed in the Toyota Prius Alpha, and contributed to the worldwide spread of LED headlamps, being
adopted by various vehicles.

1996

2019

Production and sales of all-glass
sealed beam (SB) headlamps begins

Production and sales of uniquely
shaped headlamps begins

Production and sales of jet-type
headlamp washers begins

Production and sales of all-resin
aerodynamic-type headlamps begins

1978

Production and sales of
halogen headlamps beginsAs halogen light bulbs with high luminous ﬂux
a n d e xc e l l e n t a n t i g l a r e p e r f o r m a n c e c a ncontribute to reduce traf ﬁc accident s , they
were standardized in Europe in 1971 and in the
U. S . in 1978 . KOITO has s t ar ted producing
halogen headlamps by incorporating halogen
light sources (originally impor ted products)
into SB and SSB headlamps in July 1978.

Reﬂector
Lens
Halogen bulb
Terminal

Production and sales of discharge
headlamps (GDHL) begins
With a light source that utilizes arc discharge between
electrodes, discharge headlamps (GDHL) were excellent in increasing light intensity, and has long life andhigh energy efﬁciency. As the next-generation lamp
contributes to improve vehicle fuel efﬁciency, KOITO
succeeded in developing discharge headlamps as well
as a control circuit called ballast, and were installed inthe Nissan Terrano and the Toyota Mark II in 1996.

Lens

Halogen bulb

Reﬂector

2007

Production and sales of the worldʼsﬁrst LED headlamps begins
KOITO has developed LED headlamp using white LEDs
as a low-beam light sources , which of fer s improved
visibility with higher luminous ﬂux, longer life, and lower
power consumption compared to GDHL and halogenheadlamps. In May 2007, they were installed in the Lexus
LS 600h, as the worldʼs ﬁrst LED headlamp in the market.

Production and sales of the worldʼs ﬁrst
LED Compact-Bi-function begins

Production and sales of the worldʼsﬁrst BladeScanTM ADB begins
KOITO has developed the worldʼs ﬁrst BladeScan T M
ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) system, which is expected to further improve safety by enabling high-resolution light dis tribution than the conventional ADBsystems. It was installed in the Lexus R X in August
2019, becoming the worldʼs ﬁrst system in the market.

KOITO INTEGRATED REPORT 2022

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