TECHNOLOGY - Sept. 19, 1996

Matsushita Invests in Car-Navigation System: Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. said it will work with Ashtech Inc. to develop car-navigation systems, which guide drivers through unfamiliar areas. As part of the agreement, Matsushita said it invested an undisclosed amount in the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based telecommunications company. The navigation products are based on technology called a global positioning system, which uses satellites and receivers to pinpoint a user’s location. Matsushita Electric Works, part of Japan’s Matsushita group, sells about 220,000 products under Panasonic and other brand names in 160 countries. It had sales of $11.1 billion in fiscal 1995. Ashtech had sales of $23.9 million in the first half of 1996, with profit of about $1.9 million.