Physix FrontierPhysix Frontier · News Briefing Card (IT Home · Nov 9, 2026)
Japan's Koito Teardowns BYD, AITO Lamps to Study Costs
KEY FACTS
- Japanese automotive lighting maker Koito Manufacturing has been teardown-analyzing the lamps of Chinese models from BYD, AITO and others.
- Koito engineers say they do not understand how Chinese manufacturers achieve current price levels.
- Koito runs a competitor analysis room that tears down about 100 products a year and keeps a collection of roughly 600 headlamps.
- Koito aims to cut production costs by about 30% in fiscal 2030.
- Koito posted revenue of 478.1 billion yen in the first half of fiscal 2027, up 7% year on year.
KEY DATA
about 30%Cost reduction target
about 100Products torn down per year
about 600Headlamps in collection
478.1 billion yenH1 FY2027 revenue
PHYSIX OBSERVATION
A Japanese parts giant has started tearing down Chinese lamps to learn about cost, showing that the competitive focus has shifted from technology to cost control. China's supply chain has pushed lamp prices down to a new industry benchmark, forcing rivals to cut costs by 30% in three years. That is good for users, but if Japanese firms rely only on teardown and imitation, they may not keep up with the pace of iteration.
Source: IT Home report