Settling the AT patent problem with a fifty-fifty Borg-Warner joint venture (1967)

An entry that chose continuity over control

The heart of this decision is that Aisin sidestepped a fight over intellectual property and instead joined hands with the very holder of the patents. With the basic patent resting in Borg-Warner, winning a lawsuit was uncertain, and even a victory would have cost time and trust. Aisin Seiki and Toyota Motor chose not the outcome of a battle but a sure path into volume production for the coming age of the automatic transmission, turning the counterparty into an ally through the parity of a fifty-fifty split. That they pressed for a majority stake for two and a half years before settling on an even one can be read as valuing continuity over control.

As it turned out, the Aisin AW that this venture created grew into an AT company larger than the parent itself and underpinned the group’s earnings for decades. Ironically, the greater that success, the heavier the risk of carrying an AT mainstay into the EV era. The transmission business acquired from outside in 1969 was folded into the parent in 2021, and the two pillars became one again. The choice of a fifty-fifty joint venture at the outset did not foresee that integration half a century later, but it was among the decisions that shaped the form of Aisin for the longest time.