It is predicted that the demand for automobiles in the world will continue growing steadily by virtue of the continued healthy North American market and the recovery trend in the European market. But yet, there are many unclear factors. Although it is anticipated that the SWS group will receive orders at a good rate for the time being, the order volume may fluctuate greatly depending on changes in market environments. I ask you to obtain accurate information quickly and share it globally. I also ask you to prepare for any likely environmental changes that may take place, so that we can respond to these flexibly and quickly.
In light of the above, I will make three requests this year.

The first request is to advance ?Reduction 10?.
To win the competition in the global market, particularly in emerging countries, we must respond to severe price requests from customers, meaning that it is essential to achieve unprecedented cost reduction. For this purpose, I ask you to continue promoting the 'Reduction 10' activities, and set clear target values with a definite timeline to explore these activities. Permanent cost reduction cannot be achieved through conventional activities only. I urge divisions involved in manufacture, development, sales and procurement, and other relevant divisions to cooperate closely with corporate divisions that support our businesses to achieve these targets.

The second request is to enhance development/suggestion capabilities and quick conversion into commercial products.
As the features of automobiles, such as computerized control, driving safety systems, comfort and networks, have become more advanced, the proportion of electronic components and software has steadily increased. If the competition becomes more intense in the areas of these materials and technologies, it is predicted that business environments will become increasingly severe because companies from different business sectors will become part of market competition due to the open industrial structure. I ask you to promote the Concept-In Activities so that we can expand our order-taking activities advantageously, making use of our development capabilities to provide unique and high-value-added products.
Furthermore, in order to compete in the marketplace with our product capabilities and technical capabilities that do not depend on price competition, I ask you to enhance the development and suggestion capabilities so that we can quickly convert these new items into commercial products that should increase our competitive advantage.

The third request is to enhance global marketing capabilities.
To achieve ?Vision 2017?, it is an absolute requirement to expand businesses with current customers or potential customers in Europe, America, and emerging countries such as China. To keep up with customers that are expanding their businesses globally, I ask you to foresee expanding markets in emerging countries and take appropriate global actions, considering the involvement of local companies and the ideal organization for this purpose. To achieve this,
it is necessary to appoint local personnel to responsible positions and cultivate more local personnel. It is also imperative to cultivate global-minded leaders with competent communication skills. I ask you to establish human resource development programs to enhance competitiveness and embody this project at the earliest stage possible.