In connected car news are Volkswagen, VNC Automotive, Gosei, Hitachi Astemo and Parkopedia.
VW Integrates Software with TraceTronic with neocx
Volkswagen is strengthening its expertise in the integration of automotive software. At present, high-performance automotive functions can only be achieved by networking many individual software and hardware components. Integrating these components and testing the resulting assembly is a key development task for Volkswagen. As part of its ACCELERATE strategy, Volkswagen is seeking to grow automotive software integration and the digital customer experience as core competencies. The company has therefore established a joint venture with TraceTronic, a world-leading provider of solutions to test and integrate automotive software. Each partner holds 50 percent in the joint venture, named neocx, which will create a continuous integration/continuous testing (CI/CT) factory.
This is a platform which brings together high-performance tools for the automated testing and integration of automotive software and networked services. In this way, Volkswagen aims to accelerate the development of digital functions such as over-the-air updates, which are provided to the owners of ID. vehicles every three months. Prior to this, the updates are to be integrated and tested with solutions from neocx. This makes the new joint venture a key contributor to the development process.
VNC Selected for Renesas’ R Car Program
VNC Automotive, an innovator in the connected car and telematics sectors, has been selected as a member of Renesas’ R-Car Consortium Proactive Partner Program.
The appointment builds on VNC Automotive’s existing relationship with the consortium and recognises their achievements in the software integration and In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) fields.
The R-Car Consortium provides a collaborative environment for members, system integrators, and developers to share their expertise and accelerate their implementation of next-generation Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Connected Car solutions.
VNC Automotive joins 70 other Proactive Partners in enjoying preferential access to Renesas’ advanced System-on-Chip (SoC) designs, end-to-end development support, and shared marketing effort.
Gosei’s New Safer Driver’s Airbag
Gosei Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:7282) has developed a driver-side airbag with a new structure that can more safely protect the occupant. This airbag is used on the new Honda Civic that was launched in North America in June 2021.
Loaded in the center of the steering wheel, driver-side airbags inflate during frontal collisions to mitigate the impact on the driver’s head and chest. In order to more safely protect the occupant during angled frontal collisions, the new airbag uses an innovative donut-shaped structure to cradle and hold the head to reduce rotation. This will help to meet the requirements of new car assessment programs* in North America and elsewhere that are expected to become stricter in the coming years
Toyoda Gosei will continue to develop and supply airbags correspond to the increasingly diverse postures of vehicle occupants during autonomous driving, contributing to safer and more secure vehicle interior spaces.
Hitachi Astemo To Contribute to EV Tech
Hitachi Astemo was created on January 1, 2021, from the merger of Hitachi Automotive Systems with three former Honda affiliates: Nissin Kogyo, Keihin and Showa. Hitachi Ltd. owns a 66.6 percent share of the new auto supplier with Honda holding 33.4 percent.
The company has the scale, technical depth and software capabilities to make significant contributions in rapidly changing mobility technology areas such as safety, electrification, comfort and sustainability.
Hitachi Astemo’s major goals include:
- Carbon neutral production lines by fiscal 2030;
- Global leadership in electric motors and inverters with annual production targets of five million units for each and,
- Generating economic value aiming for approximately $18 billion in sales and 15 percent EBITDA in fiscal 2025.
“Building on the strength of our founding companies, Hitachi Astemo is committed to creating a sustainable future and improved quality of life,” says CEO Brice Koch. “Our combined expertise, efficiencies and economies of scale will allow us to provide significant economic, environmental and societal benefits – an advantage that is further strengthened by leveraging technology and data from our Hitachi partners.”
Koch points out that Astemo stands for Advanced Sustainable Technologies for Mobility, a name fully aligned with the company’s plans to define the future of mobility through technologies and solutions in powertrain, chassis systems and advanced driver assistance.
Globally the company employs 90,000 people at nearly 140 facilities in 27 countries enabling them to be close to their OEM customers around the world.
In the Americas (the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil) Hitachi Astemo has 38 facilities with a regional headquarters in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The group is headed by Paul Carroll, a senior vice president of Hitachi Astemo and president and CEO of Hitachi Astemo Americas.
“We are developing advanced mobility solutions that will define automobiles and motorcycles in the future,” Carroll predicts. “Hitachi Astemo engineering teams today are dedicated to driving innovations that will accelerate the development of next-generation technologies.”
Hitachi Astemo’s Chassis Division currently accounts for about 41 percent of global sales while the Powertrain & Safety Systems Division contributes 50 percent, according to Koch. The company also is a major supplier to the motorcycle industry which accounts for about eight percent of its business.
Today, Hitachi Astemo is number one in global sales for hydraulic suspensions and EV components such as electric motors and inverters. It is a leader in foundation-brake sales and its motorcycle group leads the industry in the sale of calipers, throttle bodies and suspensions.
Major Hitachi Astemo development programs currently underway include:
- Inverters with industry leading output and high efficiency performance;
- Highly efficient, super-compact electric drive units;
- Next-generation integrated chassis control systems;
- Integrated AD/ADAS controls that leverage sensor and artificial-intelligence technologies, and
- Motorcycle electrification and anti-nosedive “attitude control” systems.
Parkopedia To Provide Parking to VW’s Car-Net
Parkopedia, the world’s leading parking services provider, has announced a new deal with Volkswagen of America (VWoA) to provide parking reservation services to Volkswagen drivers using the Car-Net service and the associated smartphone app in the USA. The service is now live for drivers and will cover both legacy and new vehicles produced by Volkswagen that support Car-Net services. This comes as an extension to Parkopedia’s premium parking services provided to the automaker, which include detailed parking information on available spaces delivered through Car-Net already.
The system will be available through the latest generation Car-Net app via a new reservation option, utilising Parkopedia’s market-leading payment platform. The platform enables drivers to register their payment details once in a single secure account and then digitally pay for parking sessions effortlessly within activated locations. Reserve and pay is a further example of how Parkopedia is working with automakers to help innovate the automotive industry and provide better user experiences for drivers.
There are additional benefits for drivers of 2021 model year vehicles, equipped with the latest MIB3 infotainment system, such as Atlas and Arteon models. These vehicles will feature further benefits from the new service, by providing enhanced navigation directly to available spaces via the vehicle navigation system working in unison with the Car-Net system. These additional features will now act to complement the existing parking coverage that Parkopedia already provides to millions of Volkswagen drivers across the USA.
