Contact Center Solutions Industry News

TMCNet:  HARMAN Announces US$500M in Branded Audio and Infotainment Awards in China and India

[April 23, 2012]

HARMAN Announces US$500M in Branded Audio and Infotainment Awards in China and India

BEIJING --(Business Wire)--

HARMAN, the premium global audio and infotainment group (NYSE:HAR), announced today that it has finalized multi-year agreements with three leading domestic automakers in China and India to feature the Company's branded audio and infotainment systems. The combined business, awarded by Geely Motors and BAIC Motors of China and Tata Motors of India, represents a record total of more than US$500M.

"These new awards further validate our strategic focus and aggressive investments in the high-growth emerging markets," said Dinesh C. Paliwal, HARMAN Chairman, President and CEO. "Over the last four years, we have built three world class manufacturing plants, four engineering and two R&D centers in China and India and employ 2000 people there. Chinese and Indian customers are increasingly becoming more discerning and demand the latest in technology. With our global reach, systems and connectivity expertise, and our unparalleled innovation, we will create cutting edge audio and infotainment experience for every passenger. We are honored that these prominent Asian automakers have selected HARMAN as a partner to help meet the growing demands from their customers."

Geely Motors, a leading Chinese automaker and parent company of Volvo Cars, has selected HARMAN to develop an audio and infotainment system for its upcoming luxury sedan, and an infotainment platform for its new mid-sized luxury SUV. The new orders extend an earlier branded audio award from Geely, and mark the first time HARMAN will provide infotainment systems to the automaker.

China's BAIC Motors has also tapped HARMAN to provide a premiu JBL branded audio system and infotainment solution for a new full-sized luxury sedan debuting in 2013. The two companies will work closely to develop a platform based on HARMAN's scalable, next-generation software architecture that is readily adaptable to new future vehicles. The agreement is HARMAN's first with BAIC.

Tata Motors, India's leading automotive company and parent company of Jaguar Land Rover, has selected HARMAN to develop a branded audio and infotainment strategy for vehicles across Tata's new vehicle range. The agreement is HARMAN's first with Tata, and marks the first time an Indian automaker will bring premium branded audio and infotainment systems to the domestic market.

HARMAN is the leading supplier of advanced connectivity, infotainment, and audio to the global automakers, including Audi, BMW, Chrysler, FIAT, Ferrari, SGM, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Toyota, and Volkswagen. The new agreements were announced in conjunction with the Beijing Auto Show, and follows new HARMAN business awards from six different Chinese automakers in the past year.

HARMAN is well on-track to deliver US$1.5B in revenues by 2015 in the BRIC countries, where sales increased by 32 percent during the most recent fiscal quarter. The Company's employment in China and India has doubled during the past year. The Company has opened HARMAN Flagship Stores in Shanghai and Beijing to showcase its brands, and recently opened its newest engineering and manufacturing center in the Northern Chinese city of Dandong. HARMAN also operates R&D and manufacturing facilities in Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen, and Bangalore.

About HARMAN

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets - supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,000 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.2 billion for the twelve months ending December 31, 2011. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.

HAR-C

© 2012 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson are trademarks of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered in the United States and/or other countries.


[ Back To Contact Center Solutions Homepage's Homepage ]



Related Contact Center Solutions Articles

FOLLOW US

Contact Center Solutions Glossary of Terms

Featured Whitepaper

    Microsoft® Lync® in the Contact Center: Integrating with Customer Interaction Center™ to Provide a Barrier‐free Customer Experience To implement contact center functionality, organizations using Microsoft Lync Server 2010 can follow the unified communications blueprint of open standards interoperability and integrate to a contact center solution of their choice. Customer Interaction Center (CIC) from Interactive Intelligence is a proven best of breed contact center solution that merits consideration ...

Featured Success Story

    Contact Center Solutions Featured Success Story
    Interactive Intelligence all-in-one IP communications software suite integrated with Microsoft Lync helps Bentley save $200,000 annually.

Featured Product Demo

    Contact Center Solutions Interaction Analyzer™
    Interaction Analyzer™
    Real-time word and phrase spotting. Alerting. Analytics. Scoring. Coaching. Watch how Interaction Analyzer turns every moment, of every past and present call, into data that lets you deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Featured Resources