Denso develops world’s first integrated, in-vehicle wireless cellphone charger

Kariya, Japan, January 22, 2013: Global automotive supplier Denso has developed the world’s first integrated, in-vehicle wireless cellphone charger, in collaboration with Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS). Denso’s Qi-compatible wireless cellphone charger will make its world debut in North America on the 2013 Toyota Avalon Limited as part of the available technology package. The wireless cellphone charger is manufactured at the company’s Denso Wireless Systems America facility, located in Vista, California.

“As smartphones become more widely-used in vehicle connectivity, this new product provides a convenient charging solution that is needless of cords and connections,” said Hiroyuki Wakabayashi, executive director responsible for Denso 's Information & Safety Systems Business Group.

Qi standard

The charger is designed to meet the global Qi standard, which was established to ensure compatibility between Qi-compatible phones and other electronics and chargers. Many future smartphones that will launch in 2013 and beyond will integrate a Qi-compatible chip to allow wireless charging without an added sleeve, which is currently necessary for phones that are not Qi compatible.

Denso has developed and provided various technologies and applications that coordinate with smartphones such as the ‘ARPEGGiO’, an information system that uses the onboard navigation screen to display and operate smartphone applications, and ‘NaviBridge’, an application to operate maps on car navigation systems or set the destination remotely from smartphones. Denso will continue to develop various products and services that meet the needs of smartphone usage in vehicles, while securing a safe driving environment.

Denso factfile

Denso Corporation, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global automotive supplier of advanced technology, systems and components in the areas of thermal, powertrain control, electric, electronics and information and safety. Its customers include all the world's major carmakers.

Worldwide, the company has more than 200 subsidiaries and affiliates in 36 countries and regions (including Japan) and employs approximately 120,000 people. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, totaled US$38.4 billion (Rs 206,361 crore).

Last fiscal year, Denso spent 9.5 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development.