GS Yuasa Establishes Technical Center in Thailand - In response to growing demand in Southeast Asia and surrounding areas -

GS Yuasa Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 6674; “GS Yuasa”) today announced that it has established a wholly owned subsidiary GS Yuasa Asia Technical Center Ltd. (“GYAT”) in Samuthprakarn Province of Thailand (about 30 km south of Bangkok).

With the establishment of GYAT, GS Yuasa aims to strengthen the following functions in the field of lead-acid batteries for cars and motorcycles in Southeast Asia and surrounding areas:

(1) Development of products that reflect the region’s characteristics,

(2) Development of products employing new technologies,

(3) Market research for product development, and

(4) Development of production facilities for achieving high quality and low cost.

In addition, the center will work on product development of industrial-use lead-acid batteries in the future.

Currently, emerging countries are driving the growth in the global automobile and motorcycle market, and there are high expectations of increased demand, especially in Southeast Asia. In addition to the growth in the number of vehicles, there are growing requirements for expansion of technologies that reduce environmental burden, such as those in idle-stop vehicles and fuel-efficient vehicles, as well as for development of vehicles that suit regional characteristics. In order to address these needs, GS Yuasa needs to ensure swift development and production of lead-acid batteries for automobiles and motorcycles, leveraging new technologies that enable reduced size and weight of batteries, high capacity and improved durability.

In these circumstances, GS Yuasa positions Southeast Asia and surrounding countries as an important region where demand is growing. The company is setting up GYAT in Thailand, which leads the automobile and motorcycle industry in the region, to accelerate the development of new products, focus on boosting the GS Yuasa Group’s competitive edge on the whole and improving its ability to respond to customers.

Going forward, under its management vision, “We are committed to delivering security and comfort to our customers around the globe through advanced technologies developed in the field of stored energy solutions,” the GS Yuasa Group will strive to offer safe and high-quality products swiftly to the customer and make social contributions on a global scale.