There is a plenty of room for the car navigation system market to grow in China, says Kamiya Koji, an executive at Denso (China) Investment Co.'s technical center in Beijing.

More people are buying cars in China but only a small portion of the cars made in China have navigation systems, says Kamiya in an interview.

For example, currently preinstalled navigation systems are only available on about 10 percent of Toyota's cars made in China. But in Japan it is 50 percent, he adds.

Kamiya estimates only about 1 percent of the cars made in China in general are installed with the system before they are put into sales.

Denso Corp. produces in-vehicle navigation systems in its Tianjin-based plant, Denso (Tianjin) ITS Co. Established in June 2006, the plant has a production capacity of 120,000 units per year.

The plant sells 80 percent of its products to Toyota Motor Corp. and the rest are supplied to vehicles built in China by global automakers such as General Motors, says Kamiya.

Currently the system is installed in some imported as well as locally made Toyota models including the Lexus, Crown, Camry, Reiz and Corolla sedans.

In China, navigation systems are priced from 20,000 yuan ($2,900) to 30,000 yuan ($4,400).  The local content rate of the systems made in Denso's Tianjin plant varies from 40 percent to 70 percent, says Kamiya.

Denso can offer digital maps of more than 2,000 Chinese cities in Mandarin. Cantonese, the dialect of south China's affluent Guangdong province, are expected to be added in the future, he says.

Software of the systems is developed by Shanghai-based Denso Create Shanghai Inc. The software development subsidiary plans to open a branch in the northwest China city of Xi'an in the latter half of this year.

Denso's technical center also has 12 engineers coordinating the development of navigation systems in its plants in China.

"Denso is not limited to its current customers and will continue seeking new customers, including domestic Chinese automakers," says Kamiya.

He says Denso is also reckoning whether to sell navigation systems to the after-sale market in China.

Denso has 25 plants in China. Products include diesel common rail systems, vehicle air conditioners, compressors, alternators, starters, navigation systems and fuel injection systems.