News

  Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. (TSE: 6770; President & CEO: Toshihiro Kuriyama) became a partner member of the Japan Automotive Model-Based Engineering Center (JAMBE)¹ on February 14. JAMBE’s mission is to promote model-based development (MBD)² across Japan’s automotive industry.

  JAMBE was founded with the purpose of creating the most advanced development community in the mobility sector, able to carry out optimal and high-grade monozukuri efficiently and without rework. Primarily consisting of private companies, the center carries forward an initiative led by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) called “Enrichment of Suriawase 2.0³” – an industry-academia-government and strategic future policy for MBD in the automobile industry – which had been compiled as a result of discussions conducted by the Study Group for Ideal Approaches to Model Utilization in the Automobile Industry⁴.

  Alps Alpine became a partner member of JAMBE on February 14 and will endeavor alongside other participants to promote the spread of MBD and model distribution.

Background to Participation and Aims

  Adopting MBD removes the need for actual physical prototypes in design and development activities, realizing improvements such as cost reductions and enhanced speed of development. Alps Alpine already employs MBD internally in design and development activities for some part categories. Meanwhile, technological innovation in CASE domains (connected cars, autonomous driving, sharing and services, and electric vehicles) is the backdrop to a growing emphasis on software development in the automobile industry, and development costs have increased to unprecedented levels. Even greater efficiencies are sought in product development by engaging in model-based design activities with other companies.

  Joining JAMBE, a center administered by automakers and their suppliers, allows Alps Alpine to achieve harmonization not only within internal development processes, but also with participating business partners in the automotive domain. Making adjustments to prototypes using digital models through coordination with other participants will enable optimization of design by further reducing costs in design and development, speeding up the development process, and avoiding product over-engineering.

Outlook

  Through JAMBE, Alps Alpine will work alongside other participating companies in helping to enhance the competitiveness of Japan’s automobile industry within the global market. Another objective of participation in JAMBE activities is to readily absorb advanced MBD knowledge into the company as a way of developing internal human resources and enhancing development capabilities. We also aim to apply MBD to other business spheres outside the automotive domain.