Gentex Announces First Rear Camera Display Mirror Program in Japan With New Customer Daihatsu
ZEELAND, MI--(Marketwire - October 1, 2009) - Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX), the leading
supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors to the worldwide automotive
industry, has announced that it is shipping auto-dimming interior rearview
mirrors with its Rear Camera Display (RCD) feature for the new Daihatsu
Mira Cocoa mini-passenger vehicle in Japan. The Cocoa is in the "Kei"
vehicle segment, a Japanese category of small automobiles, including
passenger cars, vans and pickup trucks, representing about one-third of the
automotive market in Japan. This is the first time that auto-dimming
mirrors have been offered in the mini-passenger vehicle segment anywhere in
the world.
The Gentex RCD Mirror is standard equipment on the Cocoa "Plus G" trim
level, and is part of a package on the Cocoa "X" trim level. The
auto-dimming RCD Mirror contains a liquid crystal display (LCD) that works
with an automaker-specified video camera mounted at the rear of the vehicle
to provide a view directly behind the vehicle while backing up. When the
vehicle is shifted into "reverse," a display appears automatically through
the auto-dimming mirror's reflective surface. The display disappears when
the vehicle is shifted into any other gear, a capability that is made
possible utilizing Gentex's "transflective" coating and lighting
techniques, resulting in a bright, high-resolution color image.
"Daihatsu Motor Company produces small, economical autos, and we are
pleased that Daihatsu will broadly offer our auto-dimming and RCD mirror
features on this new, small vehicle model," said Gentex Senior Vice
President Enoch Jen. "This is our first program with Daihatsu, and we
believe that this business award is further evidence that automakers
everywhere recognize that Gentex technologies are cost-effective and
efficient ways to provide driver safety, comfort and convenience in all
market segments and all vehicle markets."
Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is an international
company that provides high-quality products to the worldwide automotive
industry and North American fire protection market. Based in Zeeland,
Michigan, the Company develops, manufactures and markets interior and
exterior automatic-dimming automotive rearview mirrors that utilize
proprietary electrochromic technology to dim in proportion to the amount of
headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps. More than half of the
Company's interior mirrors are sold with advanced electronic features, and
more than 96 percent of the Company's revenues are derived from the sale of
auto-dimming mirrors to nearly every major automaker in the world.
Contact Information: GENERAL AND FINANCIAL MEDIA AND INVESTOR CONTACT:
Connie Hamblin
616/772/1800
GENERAL MEDIA CONTACT:
Craig Piersma
616/772/1800
EXCHANGE: NASDAQ Global Select Market
SYMBOL: GNTX
WEBSITE: www.gentex.com