Alpine’s New Strategy

share on:

After a rough year on the OEM side and some layoffs of high profile management, Alpine Electronics is focusing on advanced driver safety products for the future and it wants to be a more nimble aftermarket player.
First, on that nimble point; Alpine is bringing over a new VP and GM, Steve Crawford, from the Japanese office to help get things done quickly when the U.S. wants to get moving, it claims. Crawford “is very well connected to the home office in Japan, so when things need to get done, he’ll know how to do it. So we think business speed will pick up considerably,” said new assistant VP of sales Mike Anderson who reports to Crawford.
On the product front, the company has invested heavily in advanced driver safety and it will bring its first product to market next year, said Anderson. The device is one of the first aftermarket back up cameras to include a motion sensor. Why do you need this? If you are backing out of the driveway or a parking space, and another car is coming (in your blind spot), it gives you fair warning. On-coming cars in the parking lot, as you back out, appear on the car’s monitor marked in a square. And it helps you see that kid on a bicycle on the sidewalk heading for your driveway as you back out.
A second product may also be marketed next year. It’s an overhead, birds’ eye view parking system that uses four cameras, one on each side of the vehicle. It stitches together the views from the cameras so you get a 360 degree overhead view. You can park seeing all angles. Both the products were shown as prototypes at CES in January. (Photo of Mike Anderson, new assistant VP of sales at Alpine).

Want to receive industry news? Sign up here
share on: