JVC, Kenwood Form Car Venture

By Greg Tarr and Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 10/8/2007

TOKYO — Victor Company of Japan (JVC) and Kenwood have set up a joint venture, J&K Technologies, to develop car electronics technologies and home and portable audio products.

The 50-50 joint venture will have 130 employees. It plans to develop a car navigation engine "that will require an unprecedented amount of development resources for navigation system devices," and it aims to sell more than a million navigation devices per year, up from the current 200,000 to 300,000 units per year, according to a joint statement.

In addition, J&K will develop a car multimedia platform and other platforms for car and home audio.

Both companies are also studying ways to integrate management.

The companies had announced in July that they planned to combine forces in several areas, including car electronics, before possibly moving toward a full merger in 2008.