HARMAN welcomes the recent announcements from Apple and Google regarding voice recognition and navigation tools for the automotive industry. HARMAN has a long history of collaboration and bringing new technologies to the automotive infotainment market. The Company also takes pride in being the first industry player to integrate Apple devices in embedded automotive head units. Automotive OEMs trust HARMAN’s expertise in integrating Personal Smart Devices, keeping safety & security considerations at the forefront. HARMAN was the first to collaborate with Apple in integrating A4A, meaning “Apple for Automotive”, for BMW.
With Apple and Google releasing voice recognition tools like Siri, and maps, HARMAN will have more options to choose from for these technologies going forward. These “connected” applications further validate HARMAN’s vision of the “Connected Car”, and will significantly increase awareness of their use in the car. Contrary to the statements made by some analysts, we believe increased awareness will drive higher penetration of HARMAN’s embedded infotainment solutions. With an industry-leading order backlog of $16B, HARMAN is uniquely positioned to take advantage of these new technologies.
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 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.