Japan car-part imports up

Japan car-part imports up

TOKYO (Reuters): Several Japanese auto-part makers plan to increase imports of car parts made by their Southeast Asian units to help boost capacity utilization at their Southeast Asian facilities.

Stanley Electric Co Ltd plans to import 10 to 15 percent of the car lamps and bulbs produced at its Thai unit in the year to March 1999, a Stanley spokesman said yesterday.

Nittan Valve Co Ltd will import from 800,000 to one million car engine valves made by its Thai and Indonesian units in 1998/99, and plans to boost such imports to 1.5 million units in the next fiscal year, a Nittan spokesman said.

A spokesman for Mitsuba Corp said the electrical equipment maker will switch all production of motorcycle turn signal flasher relays to its Thai unit from Japan in June.

Mitsuba plans to import 150,000 of the relays per month for supply to Honda, which owns 4.3 percent of the company. Mitsuba had not previously imported relays from Thailand, the spokesman said.