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Nidec Completes Acquisition of MS-Graessner GmbH & Co. KG and Its Group Companies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nidec Corporation
Tokyo Stock Exchange code: 6594
Contact:
Masahiro Nagayasu
General Manager
Investor Relations
+81-75-935-6140
ir@nidec.com

Released on September 3, 2018, in Kyoto, Japan

Nidec Completes Acquisition of MS-Graessner GmbH & Co. KG and
Its Group Companies

Nidec Corporation (TSE: 6594; OTC US: NJDCY) (the “Company” or “Nidec”) today announced that the Company has acquired 100% ownership of MS-Graessner GmbH & Co. KG and its group companies (collectively “Graessner”), a privately owned German company group from its owners on August 31, 2018 (the “Transaction”) through Nidec-Shimpo GmbH which is the Germany-based affiliate of Nidec’s subsidiary, Nidec-Shimpo Corporation (“Nidec-Shimpo”). Details are as follows:

1.Outline of Graessner
(1) Company Name: MS-Graessner GmbH & Co. KG and its group companies
(2) Headquarters: Dettenhausen, Baden-Württemberg Germany
(3) Foundation: 1955
(4) Directors: Michael Stadler: CEO, Managing Director
Thomas Merk: COO, Commercial Director
(5) Principal Places of Business:　 Germany, Austria
(6) Principal Business: Manufacture and sale of gearboxes
(7) Employees: Approximately 166 (as of January 31,2018)
(8) Financials: Revenue: €21.8 million
Operating Profit: €2.1 million
Net Assets: €15.1 million
Total Assets: €26.2 million
(fiscal year ended December 31, 2017)


2.Purpose of the Transaction and Future Operation
The Company has been actively engaged in manufacture, sales and after-sales services associated with gearboxes through its subsidiary, Nidec-Shimpo.
Nidec-Shimpo’s main line of gearboxes are precision planetary reducersⅰ with a particular strength in the linear type reducers whose input and output shafts are aligned. These lines of products produced by Nidec-Shimpo are currently sold in Asia, mainly in Japan and China and the Americas.
Graessner exhibits a very strong capability in right-angle precision gearboxes whose input and output shafts are arranged at an angle of 90 degrees, particularly in hypoid reducersⅱ. Graessner’s current main market for these products is Europe, mainly Germany.
As a result of the Transaction, Nidec-Shimpo is now capable of offering more comprehensive precision gearbox solutions, both linear and angular types, and leveraging Graessner’s sales network to expand its sales in Europe which offers a large market for planetary gearboxes. In addition, Nidec-Shimpo plans to manufacture its newly developed strain wave gearboxesⅲ for robotic application in Graessner’s German factory and offer its products along with after-sales services to Graessner’s customers serving the robot industry.
Likewise, Graessner can sell its products through Nidec-Shimpo’s sales and after-sales service network in Asia and the Americas. Also, Graessner’s cost performance will be improved by leveraging Nidec-Shimpo’s manufacturing capabilities in Asia. The Company expects the Transaction will offer mutually beneficial opportunities to capture the rapidly growing robotic demand.
Nidec-Shimpo and Graessner have strong brands, high technological capabilities and solid customer bases. The Company believes that its financial strength and global presence will bolster these advantages, which will help the Company achieve the future growth. The Company will continue to serve customers who desire to achieve the highest standards of productivity.

———————————
ⅰ Gearbox with the gearing mechanism where the planetary gears rotate around the center axis at the same time that it revolves around the center gear.
ⅱ Type of spiral bevel gearbox that the gears' axes do not intersect and the gears’ geometry allows contact in multiple teeth allowing higher torque transmission.
ⅲ Gearbox mechanism where the main components are the cam, flexible bearing, flexible gear and internal gear which utilizes the differential movement between the oval flexible gear and the circular internal gear, applied in applications that require small size, light weight and high efficiency such as robotics applications.


3.Effect on Financial Performance for the Current Fiscal Year

The Transaction is expected to have no significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial performance for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019. If necessary, the Company will make additional disclosures on a timely basis in accordance with the rules of the Tokyo Stock Exchange upon determination of further details.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the intent, belief, strategy, plans or expectations of the Nidec Group or other parties. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those described in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the risks to successfully integrating the acquired business with the Nidec Group, the anticipated benefits of the Transaction not being realized, changes in general economic conditions, shifts in technology or user preferences for particular technologies and changes in business and regulatory environments. The Nidec Group does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained herein or the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.

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Sweden To Test Dynamic Wireless Charging On Island Of Gotland

The Smart Road Gotland consortium won the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket)’s tender for demonstration road system with dynamic wireless power transfer on the island of Gotland.

The project includes retrofitting of 1.6 km (1 mile) out of 4.1 km (2.5 miles) route between the airport and city center of Visby to enable electric cars and truck/buses to operate without charging.

The core technology to be provided by ElectReon, Israeli startup founded in 2013. One of the points of the project is test of the electric truck over varied seasonal conditions.

In theory, embedding dynamic wireless charging system in main roads would enable to significantly decrease the required battery capacity and prices of electric cars, as well as their need for charging points. The drawback s however need to build the infrastructure in roads, retrofit the cars and efficiency, as well as standardization.

Budget of the demonstration project is 116 million SEK (around $12.5 million).

A first-of-its-kind dynamic electric road system will be built in Sweden

Today, the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) announced the pre-commercial procurement results for the electric road system tender.

The consortium Smart Road Gotland (Gotland GPe Circuit AB as its applicant) won the final round of the tender with the highest evaluation points, despite the much bigger industrial competitors.

Electreon AB (a wholly owned subsidiary of Electreon Wireless) will lead the project’s next phase to provide vital knowledge of the future potential of dynamic wireless mobile power transfer through this demonstration road system.

This public-private initiative, based on Electreon’s leading technology, will be the first in the world to charge inductively both an electric truck and a bus while in full motion.

To enable the mission-critical knowledge transfer to the Swedish Transport Administration, the Smart Road Gotland consortium will deploy a fully functional public shuttle service and test bed through a 1.6 km long electric road as part of the total route of 4.1 km between the airport and city center of Visby on the idyllic island of Gotland, an eco-municipality in the middle of the Baltic Sea.

The electric truck will be test-driven by a professional in varied seasonal conditions to ensure that the system is ready for large-scale projects on highways.

As an integral strategic step towards implementing the Swedish government’s national roadmap for electric road systems, the Smart Road Gotland project will create a vital learning curve for the authority.

Long haul heavy trucks benefit significantly from the Electreon solution since no heavy and costly batteries, nor stops for charging, are needed. This optimal solution enables installation of electric road systems without the environmental impact (benefits are both physical and visual) of a conductive system.

After acquiring relevant ERS demonstration results, the Swedish Transport Administration can evaluate the potential for larger scale electric road investments.

Initially, Gotland GPe Circuit AB (GotlandRing, world’s first sustainable race and test circuit) – with the support of World Ecological Forum (a global crossover sustainability network, a facilitator and enabler of green business and entrepreneurship) started the project in co-operation with Electreon
– ‘For the whole consortium, it’s wonderful news that we have been selected as the top candidate. It is of utmost importance to significantly reduce CO2-emissions within the transport sector. To commence with the heavier transports is logical since the biggest emission improvements can be gained where the usage and tonnage is the highest. The future positive impact could be global.’, comments Alec Arho-Havrén, CEO/Founder Gotland GPe Circuit/GotlandRing and World Ecological Forum.

– ‘We, the Swedish Transport Administration, believe that electric roads are an important contribution to reducing CO2-emissions from heavy transportation. Demonstrating and evaluating new technical solutions for electric routes is one of our most important steps in our long-term plan for a potential rollout of electrified routes on the heavy road network in Sweden.’, says Jan Pettersson, program manager, Trafikverket (The Swedish Transport Administration)

– ‘We are excited that we have been selected to take part in the Swedish government’s ambitious program to examine and implement electric road technology as a solution to electrify heavy trucks on highways. Electreon’s wireless electric road technology makes it possible to electrify truck fleets economically without the need to carry huge batteries and stop for charging and without creating a visual hazard. The selection of Electreon by the Swedish government after careful filtration testifies to the recognition of the potential of the technology to bring the global electrification revolution to the next critical stage of full implementation.’, Oren Ezer, CEO of Electreon, comments.

– ‘It is exciting and positive that Trafikverket wants to see this unique technology and test bed realised on Gotland. It strengthens the image of Gotland as one of the most innovative and climate smart regions in the world.’, says the chairwoman of the regional government, Eva Nypelius (C).

The Smart Road Gotland consortium members include:

  • Electreon AB – a fully owned Swedish subsidiary of Electreon wireless (publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, a leader in dynamic wireless power transfer technology
  • EiTech – a Swedish subsidiary of Vinci, one of the world’s biggest infrastructure and construction companies
  • RISE RESEARCH INSTITUTES OF SWEDEN – Sweden’s research institute and innovation partner and a leading research institute in the field of electric roads
  • Gotland GPe Circuit AB, Gotland Ring – world’s first sustainable race and test circuit, traffic electrification partner for the vehicle industry
  • World Ecological Forum – a global crossover sustainability network, a facilitator and enabler of green business and entrepreneurship (project initiator)
  • Matters Group – a sustainability consultancy
  • Flygbussarna – a local Swedish public transportation operator owned by TransDev, formerly Veolia TransDev, a French international public transport operator, with operations in 20 countries
  • Swedavia – the Swedish airport authority
  • Dan transport – Israel’s leading bus operator and a strategic investor in Electreon will provide a HIGER E-Bus based on Supercapacitor
  • Hutchinson – a leading French manufacturer will manufacture the underground coils
  • Eco-municipality of Gotland – the most popular tourist destination summer time, an eco region
  • GEAB – utility company, electricity supplier (owned 75% by Vattenfall, 25% by the municipality)

Smart Road Gotland synopsis

  • Technology: Dynamic mobile wireless power transfer, https://www.electreon.com/technology
  • Invisible installation to road users (coils deployed 8 cm under the surface) and activated only when corresponding vehicle drives on top of it
  • Located in Visby, Gotland, the Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, an eco-municipality
  • 1.6 km of the 4.1 km airport route will be electrified
  • Compatible with all types of EVs, including buses, trucks, passenger cars, including self-driving vehicles (a typical passenger car can be equipped with just one 12 kg receptor, heavier vehicles can have more units to optimise charging levels)
  • The main project mission is acquiring knowledge for the Swedish Transport Administration, including demonstrating the environmental and commercial benefits
  • World Ecological Forum and Gotland GPe Circuit AB/GotlandRing initially contacted Electreon (Tel Aviv listed public company) to initiate a demonstration test bed on Gotland, which is now realised thanks to Trafikverket
  • Budget for the public-private project: SEK 116 M

About Electreon
Electreon Wireless is an Israeli publicly traded company developing DWPT (Dynamic wireless power transfer) technology. The technology enables a shared infrastructure that significantly reduced the need to charge vehicles’ batteries during day/overnight and decreases the size of the battery. It can support any type of EV – buses, trucks, and passenger vehicles. It is fully compatible for autonomous and self-driving EVs. Electreon is a global leader in its field because of its deep technological capabilities and focus on making the technology cost effective, durable and efficient.

Smart Energy Road and Traffic System (SERTS) synopsis

  • Smart Energy Road and Traffic System (SERTS), an energy harvesting smart infrastructure, finalist i InfraAwards 2017, testbeds planned on GotlandRing in the future
  • The vision is to enable access to limitless sustainable energy through smart infrastructure development and simultaneously urge the paradigm for e-mobility. Our mission is to develop and commercialise an energy harvesting electric road system, a modular, self healing micro smart grid with wireless, mobile dynamic charging for electric vehicles.
  • Unique combination of solar, thermal, wind, kinetic, and hydraulic energy harvesting technology that provides decentralised and secure energy
  • Innovative infrastructure with options – in road, covered tiling, contoured (roadside) solar panels, can also be combined with existing road
  • Synergetic systems for energy harvesting, capture, storage of 100% renewable energy
  • Enables smart e-mobility on a large scale and solves range anxiety
  • Electreon’s dynamic wireless power transfer is an important planned feature for the SERTS

GotlandRing/Gotland GPe Circuit AB synopsis

  • World’s first sustainable race and test circuit, traffic electrification and new model launch partner for the vehicle industry
  • Located in a former limestone quarry
  • Green business campus and eco resort development area
  • About to enter an expansion phase making it the longest modern standard race circuit in the world

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Hyundai • Kia Invest Additional US$250 Million in Grab

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  • Grab, Hyundai and Kia will create a Southeast Asia-wide electric vehicle (EV) partnership aimed at driving the adoption of EVs in the region
  • Hyundai Motor Group’s automotive affiliates Hyundai and Kia join Grab’s current financing round, which has raised US$2.7 billion to date
  • Hyundai Motor Group is committed to promoting zero-emission mobility services in Southeast Asia

Hyundai Motor Group and Grab Holdings Inc. (Grab), Southeast Asia’s leading O2O (online to offline) mobile platform, today announced an agreement under which Hyundai Motor Company (“Hyundai”) and Kia Motors Corporation (“Kia”) will invest an additional US$250 million into Grab and establish a partnership to pilot EV programs across Southeast Asia. Under the EV partnership, Grab and the Hyundai Motor Group affiliates will bring together stakeholders from the EV industry to collaborate on measures to improve EV adoption and awareness in Southeast Asia. “As home to one of the world’s fastest growing consumer hubs, Southeast Asia is a huge emerging market for EVs,” said Dr. Youngcho Chi, Hyundai Motor Group’s Chief Innovation Officer and head of Strategy & Technology Division. “With its unparalleled footprint across the region, and an ever-expanding base of customers and merchants, Grab is an invaluable partner that will help accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in Southeast Asia.” To start, Grab, Hyundai and Kia will launch a series of EV pilot projects in Southeast Asia starting with Singapore in 2019. The pilot projects will focus on utilizing EVs to maximize cost efficiencies for Grab’s driver-partners. The EV partnership will also work with regional stakeholders including governments and infrastructure players to improve EV infrastructure in the region, such as the building of a network of quick-charge stations. The EV partnership will also explore the development of customized maintenance packages to Grab EV drivers and conduct research into how EVs can be most efficiently deployed in Southeast Asia under hot and humid climate conditions. “As the largest fleet owner of EVs in Singapore, we are excited to establish an industry partnership with Hyundai Motor Group to drive EV adoption across Southeast Asia. We both share a common vision on the electrification of mobility as one of the key foundations for building an environmentally sustainable and lowest-cost transportation platform,” said Ming Maa, President of Grab. The three companies will also explore how to customize EVs to optimize them for mobility service platforms. The additional investment builds on Grab’s existing strategic partnership with Hyundai and brings Grab’s current fundraising to US$2.7 billion raised. Grab is on track to raise over US$3 billion by the end of this year. Investors in Grab’s current financing round include Booking Holdings, Microsoft, Toyota, and global financial institutions such as OppenheimerFunds, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Citi Ventures. Hyundai first invested in Grab in January, and the two companies began exploring collaborations in the EV sector. Grab’s latest initiative, which expands its cooperation with the Korean automotive group to include Kia, is a milestone in the company’s continuing efforts to promote the use of EVs in Southeast Asia. In August, Grab announced a partnership with Singapore’s energy utilities provider, SP Group, to use SP Group’s public EV charging network for its EVs. With a commitment to driving innovation that will enhance its foothold in the future mobility market, Hyundai and Kia have been making significant strategic investments in promising start-ups. From technologies such as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence, to ride-sharing and things in-between, Hyundai Motor Group is building a network of industry experts that will contribute to enhancing people’s lives through the development of innovative mobility services. In line with its goal of becoming a leader in clean mobility, the Group also plans to develop more than double the number of its eco-friendly models to 38 by 2025. Grab is one of the most frequently used mobile O2O platforms in Southeast Asia, providing everyday services that matter most to consumers. Today, the Grab app has been downloaded onto over 125 million mobile devices, giving users access to over 8 million drivers, merchants and agents. Grab has the region’s largest land transportation fleet and has completed over 2.5 billion rides since its founding in 2012. Grab offers the widest range of on-demand transport services in the region, in addition to food and package delivery services, across 235 cities in eight countries. Photo Credit: Bloomberg New Economy Forum

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4 of 11 Tesla board members to step down by 2020

In November 2018, Musk was replaced by Robyn Denholm as the chairperson of the company's board.
In November 2018, Musk was replaced by Robyn Denholm as the chairperson of the company’s board.

San Francisco: In a move that is likely to weaken the powers of Electric Vehicle (EV) maker Tesla Founder Elon Musk and cut some of his strongest allies from the board of directors, the company has said that four of its 11-member board would step down by 2020, thus shrinking the board’s size by more than a third.

The EV maker reportedly said two directors plan to leave its board in June and two more intend to step down next year as part of a move to improve corporate governance of the electric car company.

“Brad Buss, a member of the board since 2009, and Linda Johnson Rice, who joined two years ago, have asked not to be re-elected when shareholders convene on June 11 for Tesla’s annual general meeting, the company said in a preliminary proxy statement,” The New York Times reported late on Friday.

The departing members of the board include Antonio Gracias and Stephen Jurvetson — close friends of Musk who are also directors in SpaceX, Musk’s space launch company.

A member of the board since 2009, Buss was also the Chief Financial Officer of solar panel installer SolarCity for two years until Tesla acquired the firm in 2016.

“Shrinking the board will ‘allow it to operate more nimbly and efficiently’,” the company was quoted as saying in The NYT report.

In November 2018, Musk was replaced by Robyn Denholm as the chairperson of the company’s board.

Musk had agreed to step down as the Chairman of Tesla for three years and pay a $20 million fine in a deal with the stock market regulatory authority, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to resolve securities fraud charges.

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8 actions to introduce enterprise AI and robotic process automation in a human way

Here’s the paradox: it takes people to automate. Enterprises are moving aggressively to automate as many of their processes as possible, through artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotic process automation. Automation opens up new types of career opportunities, from programming to training. Automation also liberates employees for higher-level tasks. But it can’t simply be inserted into operations without forethought and consideration of the wider impact.  

asimo-honda-cropped-2.jpg
Photo: Honda

That’s the word coming out of a survey of 4,000 employees released by Automation Anywhere. Overall, people don’t fear automation — if anything, most welcome it. They express high levels of curiosity as to how AI can help them do their jobs better. Almost three quarters (72 percent) see the technology as something they work with, rather than something that will replace them. This is opposed to just eight percent of respondents who strongly feel the opposite. 

A majority (57 percent) of employees say their productivity would accelerate in the long run if their organization provided more opportunities to trial different types of automation or AI, compared to just 16 percent who feel things will bog down. 

Currently, 38 percent of employees use some form of automation to perform their jobs, and there is an expectation that this number will continue to increase. 

The survey’s authors, led by Dr. Chris Brauer of the University of London, says the key to automation is not wiping away and replacing human workers, but finding ways for human and digital workers to work side by side, complementing one another’s skills. “We found that augmented companies not only enjoyed 28 percent greater performance levels, but also scored 33 percent higher on factors deemed to make a workplace more ‘human,'” he points out.

“Automation can make work more human by allowing people to transfer simpler tasks and processes to machines,” the survey report’s authors state. This “frees up resources – time, money, effort, brainpower – to be reinvested in the human workforce, through skill development, learning new things, being creative, solving complex problems, spending more time interacting with customers and developing the business.”

Organizations need to build cultures that evolve as technology is added. By optimizing for immediate productivity gains without creating a culture of support and advancing skills, there will only be temporary spurts in efficiency without long-term performance sustainability.  Brauer and his co-authors suggest the following courses of action to introduce AI, RPA and other technology strategies in a smart and strategic way:

Run in parallel: “Start small and build a foundation. RPA runs on top of existing information systems, enabling lightweight implementation that almost immediately begins to achieve ROI without changing the IT back end. However, building a foundation for augmentation means thinking about the organization as a whole and then finding use cases to run the new systems at the same time as keeping the traditional methods in place. When people begin to feel the efficiency of the augmentation, start to phase out the traditional approach.”

Act like a startup: “Startups serve to test a new idea and find out if it can create and deliver the value its founding entrepreneurs conceived. This involves a lot of fast learning on the fly, a good approach for moving into uncharted territory. By creating a small internal start-up, this new unit is unburdened from the procedures and risk checking that comes with formal oversight, and free  to dedicate its focus on the experimentation needed
to test the new idea.” 

Protect people, not jobs. “As tasks moves from the human to the automated system, it becomes the responsibility of the human to oversee the system. As algorithms are unable to conceptualize in a general context, human oversight remains critical. Empower employees to rewrite their job descriptions to reflect this new responsibility, and to decide how they will use any time freed by the absence of repetitive tasks.”

Set up a center of excellence: This center or team would be dedicated to reskilling your workforce and supporting their needs involving RPA and AI technologies. This dedicated unit should develop a knowledge base and library of reusable solutions, accessible companywide.”

Seek diverse talent pools: “Build a workforce with resilience and a growth mindset, focusing on diverse  minds rather than only skills and capabilities. Build internships to promote learning, ensure development  opportunities, and address the hiring gap now.”

Keep things simple, and build case studies of success stories: “It’s important to show this level of clarity because you care about people’s interests, not just because you need to be perceived as caring about people’s  interests. Additionally, a business shouldn’t make claims about their use of AI to come off contemporary if people later find out that you don’t use AI at all. Be a leader in creating ethical guidelines for your company.”

Emphasize transparency: “Demonstrate governance, adhere to regulation and be transparent about internal policies, procedures, and code of conduct for the ethical and honest use of automation and AI. Periodically report the status of automation in your organization and how it measures up to the rest of your operating environment. Use clear language – avoid overly buzzword heavy marketing, and don’t use wording that blurs or confuses meanings.”

Take a collaborative approach to automation: “Considerations that must be taken into account: decentralized workforce (who is touching the data? Where? What happens to their access when they leave?), decentralized office structures (what third party systems does the data pass through? Are they secure? Is the data protected?), are your AI and automation systems auditable? How are they being monitored to ensure systems are working according to design? Successful automation adopters take a participative and collaborative approach, and enable quick decision making to facilitate speed and scale.”

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From New York to Shanghai, all the latest electric cars: The Week in Reverse

2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC Edition 1886

2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC Edition 1886

What company announced plans to finally bring new diesels to the U.S.?

Where are new incentives being offered on used EVs?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending April 19, 2019.

This week was all about new-car debuts at the New York and Shanghai auto shows. In New York, Toyota showed a new Highlander Hybrid rated at 34 mpg combined, up from 29 mpg for the previous model. Mazda announced that it will begin selling a new diesel version of its CX-5 SUV rated at 28 mpg combined. It will be the first new diesel passenger vehicle on the market in four years. Mercedes-Benz announced a new signature launch edition of its upcoming EQC electric SUV. Called the Edition 1886, it is named for the company's invention of the internal combustion automobile in, you guessed it, 1886. And Hyundai's Genesis luxury division revealed its tiny Mint concept city car.

2019 Geometry A

2019 Geometry A

In Shanghai, several mainstream automakers released new electric models for the Chinese market, including Honda and Kia. Karma, the Chinese-owned California startup that builds the continuation of the Fisker Karma, introduced two new concept models in Shanghai as it seeks new partnerships with automakers. Chinese startup EV-maker Nio revealed its new ET Preview sports sedan concept. Geely announced a new electric car brand it calls Geometry, along with a preview of Geometry's first production model. And Aston Martin chose Shanghai to reveal its new electric track car, the Rapide E.

In New York, a coalition of automakers, charging companies, and states announced the strategy for it "Drive Electric, Drive Change" marketing campaign to promote electric cars in Northeastern states. The plan calls for making chargers more visible and marketing to Millennials.

Nikola Tre

Nikola Tre

At the same time, U.S.-based startup semitruck-maker Nikola showed off two new hybrid hydrogen semis at an event in Phoenix.

A new trademark filing revealed a likely new name for GM's next electric car: the Chevrolet Bolt EUV. We got a chance to drive the 2019 Chevy Bolt EV back-to-back with the new long-range 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus, and found that the Leaf more than holds its own.

Chevy Bolt EV vs. Nissan Leaf Plus

Chevy Bolt EV vs. Nissan Leaf Plus

Earlier in the week, we took a look at sales of all the plug-in and electric cars on the market and found that sales dipped across the board in the first quarter of 2019, led by Tesla. Tesla also announced that it will start a recycling program for used batteries from its cars at its battery Gigafactory in Nevada.

Now that tax credits for electric cars in Ontario have ended, and the Canadian government has proposed offering a new national tax credit, a pair of non-profits have teamed up to offer buyers in the province a rebate on used electric cars.

_______________________________________

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Nidec Announces Commencement of Tender Offer for Shares of Chaun-Choung Technology Corp., Taiwan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nidec Corporation
Tokyo Stock Exchange code: 6594
Contact:
Masahiro Nagayasu
General Manager
Investor Relations
+81-75-935-6140
ir@nidec.com

Released on October 1, 2018, in Kyoto, Japan

Nidec Announces Commencement of Tender Offer for Shares of
Chaun-Choung Technology Corp., Taiwan

Nidec Corporation (TSE: 6594; OTC US: NJDCY)(the “Company” or “Nidec”) announced today that its Board of Directors has resolved to acquire 48.0% shares of common stock outstanding of Chaun-Choung Technology Corp. (TWSE: 6230)(“CCI”) in Taiwan by way of Tender Offer (the “Tender Offer”) .
This transaction does not fall under the public tender offer defined in Paragraph 1, Article 27-2 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan.

1. The reason for the stock investment and the Tender Offer
Nidec has dealt with a wide variety of motors including brushless DC motors featuring energy saving, long-life, low-noise, and provided them to customers in various segments including IT communication equipment, office automation appliances, industrial appliances, household electric appliances for a long time.
These areas of business are managed by Nidec’s Small Precision Motor Business Unit aiming at sales of 600 billion yen under “Vision 2020”, the Company’s mid-term strategic goal in which the Company plans to achieve two trillion yen in sales for the year ending March 31, 2021.
Recently, customers’ specification requirement relating to heat dissipation and cooling has been stricter than ever before in the foregoing industrial segments. At this point, Nidec has realized to accommodate such customers’ stringent request by enhancing the Company’s own quality for heat dissipation and cooling and by providing add-value proposition to customers with some extra value.
CCI, incorporated in 1973, has manufactured and provided thermal module product which composes of heat sink, heat pipe, vapor chamber etc., mainly to IT communication equipment sectors and CCI has strong expertise in this area.
Through this Tender Offer, the Company aims to improve thermal management technology and its product development capability through collaboration with CCI and to propose a thermal solution by combining motor products with CCI’s thermal module to customers in a wide range of markets.

2. Outline of the Tender Offer

(1) Tender Offeror Nidec Corporation
(2) Target Company Chaun-Choung Technology Corp.
(3) Tender Offer Period October 3, 2018 through November 21, 2018 (“Tender Offer Period”)(tentative)
Unless the terms of the Tender Offer are met, the Company may extend the Tender Offer Period for up to 50 days.
(4) Class of shares for Tender Offer Common stock
(5) Tender Offer price TWD 108 per share
Note: The price of the Tender Offer is determined based on considering the outlook for CCI’s business performance and the potential value of owned technology.
(6) Tender Offer funds Approximately TWD 4,476 million
Note: This number is the amount required to make payment related to the purchase of 48.0% of CCI’s outstanding shares.
The Company plans to pay all the required amount with own funds.
(7) Minimum number of shares to be
purchased		 If 28,838,695 shares of CCI (which are equivalent to 33.4% of the shares outstanding) are to be sold, the Company will execute the Tender Offer.
(8) Maximum number of shares to be purchased The maximum number of shares is set to 41,444,831 shares (which are equivalent to 48.0% of the shares outstanding) to be acquired.
(9) Terms of Tender Offer The Tender Offer closing will condition on fulfilling 28,838,695 shares (which are equivalent to 33.4% of the shares outstanding) subscription, obtaining approval from MOEAIC (Investment Commission of the Ministry of Economic Affairs) and FSC (Financial Supervisory Commission) and will be carried out on
the premise that the Tender Offer meets various conditions which normally required for similar transactions.
(10) Others The Company reached an agreement with 37 shareholders of CCI that all of them subscribe the Tender Offer. The number of shares to be subscribed will be 28,838,695 shares (which are equivalent to 33.4% of the shares outstanding).
If this agreement is executed, it will be possible to acquire shares meeting the floor of 28,838,695 shares of the Tender Offer, and condition of the Tender Offer is fulfilled.

3. Summary of CCI

(1) Company name Chaun-Choung Technology Corp.
(2) Headquarters 12F, No.123-1, Xingde Road. Sanchung, New Taipei City, Taiwan, R.O.C.
(3) Name and title of representative Chairman, Wu Shih Ling
(4) Description of business Development, manufacturing, and sales of thermal module products
(5) Capital TWD 863,433,960
(6) Date of establishment December 14, 1973
(7) Number of employees 2,265 (As of March 1, 2018)
(8) Major shareholders and ownership Mr. Chang Rui Min 7.53%
Mr. Wu Hui Ran 4.88%
(9) Relationship between the Company and CCI Capital relationship Not applicable.
Personnel relationship Not applicable.
Business relationship Not applicable.
(10) Consolidated financial results and financial conditions of CCI
Accounting period December 2015 December 2016 December 2017
Net assets TWD 3,494M TWD 3,782M TWD 3,599M
Total assets TWD 6,215M TWD 6,730M TWD 6,489M
Book-value per share TWD 40.47 TWD 43.80 TWD 41.68
Sales TWD 6,044M TWD 7,297M TWD 7,067M
Operating profit TWD 801M TWD 1,194M TWD 767M
Net profit TWD 671M TWD 946M TWD 500M
Earnings per share TWD 7.77 TWD 10.95 TWD 5.79

4. Number of shares acquired, cost of investment and stockholding before and after investment

(1) Number of shares prior to the Tender Offer 0 shares
(Number of voting rights: 0)
(Voting rights ownership: 0.0%)
(2) Shares to be acquired 41,444,831 shares（*）
（Number of voting rights: 41,444,831）
(3) Cost of Investment Approximately TWD 4,476 million（*）
(4) Number of shares after the Tender Offer 41,444,831 shares（*）
（Number of voting rights: 41,444,831）
（Voting rights ownership: 48.0%）

(*) The figure represents the number of shares acquired if 48% of shares in CCI are acquired through the Tender Offer.

5. Schedule

(1) Date of the resolution of the Board of Directors meeting October 1, 2018
(2) Commencement of Tender Offer Period October 3, 2018 (tentative)
(3) Expiration of Tender Offer Period November 21, 2018 (tentative) (*)
(4) Date of stock transfer (*) November 30, 2018 (tentative) (*)

(*) There are possibilities of schedule change or extension due to the status of procedures for approval from competition regulatory authorities.

6. Future Outlook
Once the result of the Tender Offer comes out, Nidec will disclose the results of the Tender Offer as promptly as possible. In addition, Nidec expects the the impact of the Tender Offer on the Company’s consolidated financial results ending March 31, 2019 will be minor, but if some impact affects the Company’s results outlook, Nidec intends to make appropriate disclosures in accordance with the applicable rules of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the intent, belief, strategy, plans or expectations of the Nidec Group or other parties. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those described in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the risks to successfully integrating the acquired business with the Nidec Group, the anticipated benefits of the Transaction not being realized, changes in general economic conditions, shifts in technology or user preferences for particular technologies and changes in business and regulatory environments. The Nidec Group does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained herein or the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.

Original Article