Koito’s R&D Director Yuji Yokoya studied mechanical engineering at the University of Nagoya and joined Toyota Motor in 1975. There, he developed suspension and steering systems in the Chassis Engineering Division for about two decades; one Toyota first-to-market achievement he worked on was air suspension and active suspension systems.
Later, he was chief engineer for models like Corolla and Sienna. From 2003, in charge of the Lexus planning division, he directed the introduction of Lexus brand into Japan.
When that project was almost done, he was dispatched to Koito, and supervised the technical divisions assisting Mr. Goto, the former vice president, first as managing director and then as senior managing director. Since 2011, he has been directing all of the R&D activities at Koito as a V.P. Herewith our exclusive interview:
Driving Vision News: Koito were the first supplier of LED headlamps in volume. How many LED headlamps did you produce in 2015, and in total until now?
Yuji Yokoya: The figures are as follows:
The cumulative number of units produced between FY2007 and FY2014 is 6.2 million units (3.1 million sets). The forecast number of units to be produced in FY2015 is 6.56 million: 1.8 million sets in Japan and 1.42 million sets overseas.
So, the forecast cumulative number of units to be produced between FY2007 and FY2015 is more than 12 million units.
DVN: What is your data about LED reliability since 2007?
YY: Since first being used for the Lexus LS in 2007, we have used more than 28 million units of LED light sources by this January. For LEDs in headlamps, we have not received any defect complaints from the market.