So far this year Takata Automotive Electronics Shanghai Co. (TAES), has won contracts with Chery Automobile Co., Hua Chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co. (HAITEC) and Lifan Automotive Group.

"Takata has significantly increased sales in China," says the company's spokesperson Alby Berman.

Takata started producing electronics in China in 2004. In 2008, it incorporated TAES in Shanghai's Waigaoqiao area as a dedicated plant for automotive electronics. In its first year, TAES won contracts with FAW Car Co., Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.

Electronic products such as crash sensors and lane departure warning systems are made at the TAES plant in Shanghai. Crash sensors deploy airbags in the event of a crash. Lane departure warning systems warn the driver when the vehicle inadvertently moves from the lane, thereby prompting the driver to steer back into the correct lane.

Electronic products for Chery, FAW, Geely, Honda, Lifan, LTI, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and SAIC are all manufactured at the TAES plant in Shanghai.  "We continue to expand our capabilities in China in both hardware and software development. We expect to be adding capacity over the next couple years to support local and export sales," says Berman.

He declined to give a breakdown of sales by region. According to data released in March 2009, Japan accounts for 23.2 percent of Takata's $4.3 billion (29 billion yuan) global business, with the rest of Asia accounting for 11.6 percent.

Besides TAES, Takata Corp. has two other plants in China --Takata Changxing Safety Systems Co., which makes inflators in east China's Jiangsu province, and Takata Shanghai Automotive Component Co. in Shanghai's Qingpu district, which makes safety components such as airbags.