The American subsidiary of a Japanese electronics equipment manufacturer is moving its headquarters from California to Auburn Hills.

The move allows Torrance, Calif.-based Alpine Electronics of America Inc. to shift closer to the autonomous vehicle industry and increase its use of connected technologies to remain competitive.

The auto-focused manufacturer will maintain a presence in California as it brings 100 more employees to its existing Auburn Hills facility through a combination of transplants and new hires.

Alpine, whose parent company is Tokyo-based Alps Electric Co., expects to invest up to $5.1 million in its headquarters move, which will be effective April 19, according to an Alpine news release and a memo from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

That cost includes an 11,000-square-foot expansion of the existing Auburn Hills facility at 1500 Atlantic Blvd., owned and also occupied by related company Alps Electric (North America) Inc., according to a statement from Alpine executive vice president Robert Hill.

Alpine received a $650,000 performance-based grant from the state of Michigan as an incentive to move, according to the MEDC memo. The city of Auburn Hills also offered a 50 percent property tax abatement.

"The expansion will allow the applicant to work closely with the automotive industry in order to engineer cutting edge technology in the fast evolving automotive market," the memo said.

Most of Alpine's sales, engineering and support teams will be relocated, the release said.

Alpine Electronics is an automotive electronics manufacturer whose products include in-vehicle infotainment systems, and other navigation and driver assistance products. It has 13,000 employees worldwide, according to Hill.

Alpine did not answer questions on number of employees or size of its Auburn Hills building.