92-Cent Crash Avoidance Sensor Drives Share Rise for Japan Maker

The multibillion-dollar business plans being hatched by global automakers and technology companies for self-driving vehicles depend on a sensor that's less than 1 inch wide and costs all of 92 cents. And a company you've probably never heard of, Nippon Ceramic Co., controls about half of that market. Its stock is up more than 40 percent over the past three years and analysts expect profits to nearly double by 2018. In other words, it's good to be Nippon Ceramic right now. The Japanese maker of ultrasonic sensors, which help autonomous vehicles avoid crashes and fit into tight parking spaces, expects demand to double in the next five years and is expanding its production lines to keep up, President Shinichi Taniguchi said in an interview.