MEMBER FEATURE
DIVERSITY DRIVES GROWTH EXEDY (Japan) was founded in 1923, and its clutch manufacturing business and prominent brand name formerly known as Daikin Clutch is known throughout the world for supplying quality powertrain products Globally, EXEDY is committed to designing and manufacturing quality products that set the benchmark for reliability. “Our advanced engineering and patented innovations have made us the leading OEM manufacturer in the world for Clutches and other powertrain components,” EXEDY Australia Product Manager, Mark Davis, said. “EXEDY is also the undisputed world leader of performance sports and racing clutches.” Today, the global EXEDY Group has 44 operations worldwide and employs more than 18,000 people in 25 countries. EXEDY’s extensive product line-up includes manual clutches, torque converters, automatic transmission frictions, and industrial transmissions. EXEDY has a long and successful history in Australia that extends all the way back to 1986 when four knock-about blokes banded together to start Clutch Co Imports. In the later years, a fifth founding member came on board in Sydney. For the next decade, they toiled, and in 1995 Daikin Clutch Japan came to Australia, looking for a local partner. They joined forces and Daikin Clutch Australia was born. “Before joining forces with Daikin Clutch Japan, the guys were selling various brands of product,” Mark explained. “But the founders knew they were onto a good thing, and EXEDY quickly became the primary focus.”
Today EXEDY Australia employs more than 50 people and has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. They stock more than 4,500 SKUs covering everything from passenger, commercial and agricultural vehicles as well as performance upgrades and heavy-duty kits for those 4WD enthusiasts who like to get off the beaten track. But of course, shifts in consumer buying habits have thrown up challenges for clutch manufacturers in more recent times as more and more drivers choose automatic transmissions. “Today, many new passenger vehicle models don’t even offer a manual option,” Mark said. “And a lot of younger people don’t necessarily want to drive a manual car, so the biggest challenge we are facing today is that the clutch market is in decline.” To combat the slowing shrinking size of the clutch market, Mark and his highly experienced team have looked further afield, adding new products that appeal to their customer base. “We know our customer base intimately and this mutual trust and respect provided us with unique insights when we started to investigate potential opportunities to diversify our product offering,” Mark said. In 2017 EXEDY acquired Driveline Auto Parts, a leading supplier of automatic transmission components, allowing EXEDY to expand its presence in the automatic transmission aftermarket.
Mark Davis, EXEDY Australia Product Manager
When purchased, Driveline Auto Parts had operations in Perth, Adelaide, and Sydney, and under EXEDY’s ownership, its footprint has expanded to cover Melbourne and Brisbane. “The acquisition of Driveline Auto Parts has provided us with the opportunity to distribute an impressive range of automatic transmission parts,” Mark said. “While the clutch market is shrinking, the automatic transmission re-building industry is growing, so the integration of Driveline Auto Parts into the EXEDY business is a critical piece of the puzzle for us moving forward.” The second big move EXEDY Australia made to tackle the shrinking clutch market has been the launch of the AISIN brand in Australia. In parallel to growing its core clutch kit business, EXEDY recently expanded its product offering with the introduction of the AISIN brand. The AISIN range includes cooling, drivetrain, clutch kits, hydraulics, lubricants, and more. “AISIN is a subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Company,” Mark said. “They have a huge product range that is primarily suitable for Toyota applications, but with the popularity of the marque in Australia, there’s a nice synergy with the AISIN brand.” AISIN is one of the world’s leading OE manufacturers for Japanese, European and American vehicles. The extensive range of quality AISIN products is now available in Australia through EXEDY’s vast network of dealers and distributors.
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Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine October 2021
