Hitachi Ltd. will sell the more than 60 percent stake it holds in its car navigation system subsidiary Clarion Co. for about ¥89.9 billion to French car parts maker Faurecia, the firm announced Friday.
The electronics conglomerate expects little profit growth from the car navigation business as more drivers use smartphones for navigation, while development costs remain hefty, the sources said.
Hitachi will strengthen operations for autonomous and connected vehicles after selling the Clarion stake, which stood at 63.8 percent as of the end of March.
The sale is part of Hitachi's efforts to restructure the company by selling noncore operations and focusing on its main businesses related to infrastructure, information technology and energy.
Hitachi made Clarion, which is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, a subsidiary in 2006.