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Newsletter presented by 
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Volvo is testing “plug in” hybrid
With the help of electricity provider Vattenfall in Sweden, Volvo has engaged a technical cooperation in the field of “plug in” hybrids. Based on the C30 Recharge concept car, ten cars will be produced. These vehicles will be able to run on electric mode only for a few miles in cities, and will able to recharge batteries on a traditional plug. CO² can be reduced by 65 %, thanks to “plug in” hybrid technology. 3,3 billions of Euros will be invested by Volvo for this project.
Hybrid diesel for BMW
During last Geneva motor show, BMW has unveiled an hybrid diesel X5. For the first time ever, a 4 cylinder diesel engine has been combined with the hybrid technology co-developed by BMW, Daimler and GM. The power electronics have been supplied by Continental. This state of the art technology allows the driver to experience driving pleasure and efficiency, with at the same time CO² savings and a reduction of fuel consumption.
Side crash protection at Faurecia
French supplier has co-developed a pre-crash vehicle safety system that is destined to save lives following a side impact. Engineers of Faurecia have teamed up with the german research center Franhofer and companies such as Daimler, Continental, TNO and other partners for APROSYS (Advanced PROtection SYStems) project. The results have been unveiled in Spain, with a live EuroNCAP side crash. Thanks to a pre-crash sensor, that is able to predict a collision almost 200 milliseconds before impact, this provides time to deploy an active safety system. This last one is a metal tube, running from the exterior chassis of the door, under the seats and through the opposite door. In case of accident, a wire switch made of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) releases a spring-loaded bolt that effectively extends the metal tube from the seat to the door on each side of the vehicle. This allows the energy of the collision to be transferred right across the vehicle thereby reducing the force in the impact zone.
Explore More with Mio
The GPS challenger of Tom Tom (that is holding now Navman) has announced a new range of products (Moov) and new services (ExploreMore™) during last Cebit. Thanks to a Bluetooth connection, it is possible to make a local search and to access to live services, such as available parking lots, weather forecasts and gas prices. Mio considers that updated content is more and more relevant and is a new way to distinguish from competitors. Mio offers also a “Premium” traffic service based on a monthly fee.
e-Call for everyone
In France, two insurance companies (MAIF and MACIF) have launched a location based service, combining e-call and navigation. Based on a monthly fee, this terminal integrates a GPS receiver and a SIM card. In case of emergency (accident or breakdown), the driver can call a service provider (the same back office that is used for PSA Peugeot Citroën e-call service in Europe) that will make the go-between to access to emergency services. The device can be installed on any car. Map update is included in the price.
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CALL FOR PAPERS IAEC 2008
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The call for papers of the 5th edition of the congress is now available. You can submit your papers by April the 14th, 2008.
The agenda is organised with 4 workshops dedicated to:
- Energy management
- Active Safety
- Standardisation
- Telematics
Do not hesitate to send us your abstract, it will be submit to the advisory board of the congress. Join the community of IAEC speakers !
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EXHIBITORS 2008
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They've already confirmed their space in the exhibition area:
DPSACE - VECTOR - LINEAR TECHNOLOGIES / ARROW- ELEKTROBIT - ETAS - SILICON LAB- THE MATHWORKS - E2V
You want to join them: contact Delphine Serre +33 1 46 29 68 66 - dserre@reedbusiness.fr
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NEWS 2008
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This year, and for the first time at IAEC, you can discover the last technologies on the exhibition area with a special pass!
This exhibition pass let you attend also to technical presentations from the Exhibitors that will take place in a special room close to the exhibition area!
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The expert of the month
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Ian Riches, Director, Automotive Practice at Strategy Analytics
It seems that a new way of using cars is emerging with car sharing and transport on demand. How do you consider these new trends at Strategy Analytics ?
“Car sharing is certainly growing in popularity, due to rising congestion, fuel prices and the difficulties and cost associated with vehicle parking in many city areas. However, it is still very much a minority activity, and (in Europe at least) is not well supported by central governments. Transport-on-demand is a more organised, business driven response to the same issues that are making individuals decide to car share. Again, however, at present we see it as a minority activity. The car, and its heart, is about personal mobility - to be able to go exactly where I want, when I want, with the travelling companions of my choice. Car sharing and transport-on-demand may be able to play some small part, particularly in bridging the gap between the private car and often non-existent public transport in some especially rural areas. However, Strategy Analytics believes that most Europeans will have to be far more heavily incentivized than they are at present before they choose to give up their own private vehicle”.
What do you think of Pay as you drive initiatives?
“Initiatives are wide ranging internationally and are being used to test the commercial viability of “Pay as You Drive” telematics technologies. In our view, the benefits of telematics technology to insurance companies are primarily on the cost reduction side - such as encouraging younger drivers to drive more safely and limiting their driving at certain high risk times of the day, (such as 11pm-4am), recovering and tracking vehicles after a traffic incident, aiding security and tracking within the commercial vehicle sector. To use telematics for the reduction of insurance pricing to consumers is however far more difficult to achieve as this involves significant integration of telematics data from the vehicle with back office insurance databases and processes. We are seeing “Pay-as-You-Go” initiatives because insurance companies need to test, evaluate and fully examine the both the cost reduction and market share/price reduction opportunities for promoting telematics technologies in vehicles”.
What could be the impact on the automotive industry and electronics suppliers ?
“The issue with all new technologies coming into vehicles, such as telematics, is how the business model will work to support commercial, Government and public sector objectives. Auto opportunities and technologies need to be looked at on a case by case basis to do a full commercial evaluation, hence why we so many EU environmental projects and initiatives. At the end of the day it is all about what are the benefits to the consumer and who will pay ?”.
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PARTNER
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Vector is the leading producer of software tools and components for networking in electronic systems based on CAN, LIN, FlexRay and MOST as well as a number of CAN-based protocols.
This know-how is conveyed in the form of products or as a comprehensive consultation package with system and software engineering.
Customers in the automotive, heavy-duty vehicle transport and control engineering fields rely on solutions and products from Vector Group. Founded in 1988, Vector currently employs 800 people and has achieved sales of 114 million euros in 2007. In addition to its headquarters in Stuttgart, Vector also has an international presence with subsidiaries in the USA, Japan, France, Sweden, and the Republic of Korea.
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Do you see a battle between independent service providers and OEM in the field of new car usages?
“Business models, as I said above, are the central question behind how these new opportunities will be addressed. There is market space (now and in the future) for both independent service providers and OEMs in the telematics market, but the commercial questions are: what will the telematics technologies be used for, what applications benefits will they bring to consumers and OEMs, how will the revenue be generated, and how will the costs be distributed. The answers to these questions will be different for “Pay-as-you-drive”, location based services, eCall centric telematics, vehicle diagnostics, security tracking and other areas of applications opportunity and therefore the commercial solutions are and will be different”. |
