Alps Electric Enhances Motorcycle Rider Safety Through C-ITS

Membership for Connected Motorcycle Consortium

Munich, July 10, 2018 – Alps Electric, a manufacturer of high-quality electronic components, has joined the Connected Motorcycle Consortium (CMC), a non-profit organization striving to enhance powered two wheeler’s rider safety through research and development activities on C-ITS (Cooperative-Intelligent Transport Systems) for motorcycles. Together with other companies of the industry and technology-related associations, Alps Electric will actively contribute to the development of a prototype integrating this system by providing a V2X RF module. According to the Annual Accident Report 2017 of the European Commission, which bases on research conducted between 2006 and 2015, motorcycling is the only mode of transport for which the number of fatalities has increased during the period studied. Even taking into account the decrease after 2007, motorcycling is the mode of transport for which the number of fatalities decreased least between the years researched, showing the high vulnerability of motorcyclists and the urgency of taking action. Alps Electric has now joined one of the three working groups - Feasibility and Prototyping - of CMC, being one of the first electric component manufacturers to support the organizations efforts through a development membership. Not only does Alps Electric provide financial aid, but also commits itself to assign one of its employees to use half of the working hours for CMC related activities solely, hence contributing to the safety of motorcyclists and all road users in general. Yoshiharu Sato, Senior Manager of the Engineering Department in charge, states that “so far we mainly focused on developing and creating components for the automotive industry, but joining CMC is a great chance for us to gain a better understanding of the connectivity market for motorcycles and the needs of this market in order to create new business.” Hennes Fischer, leader of the CMC working group “Promoting & External Relations” and Senior Adviser of Yamaha Motor welcomes the membership of Alps Electric, saying that “CMC focuses on developing motorcycle related standards for powered two-wheeler ITS applications; this makes a technical expertise a key factor for all participating parties. Alps Electric will add knowledge and experience and will bring CMC closer to its goal of making motorcycling safer.” Additional Resources The full European Commission’s Annual Accident Report 2017 can be found here: www.erso.eu About CMC: http://www.cmc-info.net/

Alps Electric Co., Ltd. Alps Electric (Tokyo: 6770) is a leading global manufacturer of high-quality electronic components for mobile devices, home electronics, vehicles and industrial equipment. With the philosophy of “Perfecting the Art of Electronics” Alps Electric supplies over 40,000 different components to about 2,000 companies all over the world. For more information, visit  www.alps.com. Alps Electric Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of Alps Electric Co., Ltd., was established in 1979. Since 2013 the European Head Office has been located in Munich and as such co-ordinates the Sales, Marketing and Product Engineering activities of our offices in Dusseldorf, Paris, Milton Keynes, Gothenburg and Milan, as well as the production activities of our manufacturing site in Dortmund.