· ECU production at the Bangalore plant began in January 2018
· The growing demand for safety technologies to benefit from the company’s localization strategy
· Vision Zero: Zero Fatalities, Zero Injuries, Zero Crashes, safety is at the center of company’s focus
Bangalore, December 10, 2019. The technology company Continental achieved another milestone of producing one million Electronic Control Units (ECU) for passenger car Antilock Brake System (ABS) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC), at its Bangalore plant. Continental plans to ramp up its production capabilities in the next few years with a capacity of over two million units a year. This accomplishment further affirms the company’s global commitment towards vehicle safety, delivering technologies that aide Vision Zero: Zero Fatalities, Zero Injuries, Zero Crashes.
© © Continental AG
With demand stimulated by India’s recent safety legislation, Continental is on the fast track to support the OEMs with safety products such as ABS, ESC and speed sensors for both passenger cars and 2-Wheelers. Continental began localizing ABS and ESC system in 2016, with product assembly at its Gurgaon plant, where they have completed over 2 million units already. The production for ECUs at its Bangalore plant was set up in January 2018.
© © Continental AG
Speaking on the occasion Krishan Kohli, Head of Vehicle Dynamics business unit, Continental Automotive India, said, “Our commitment to road safety reflects in our achievements of the recent past. With our complete localization value chain which includes R&D, sales and manufacturing, technologies become better suited and affordable for the market, for all segments of vehicles. Road safety is everyone’s right and Continental is committed to Vision Zero”.
He further added, “we have continued with our strategy on localization. In the last few years, we have been substantially increasing our production capacity at various plants in India, to meet the growing demand for vehicle safety technologies. This makes us an ideal partner for OEMs to deliver vehicle safety technologies in a quick turnaround”.
Adding his views, Phanindra Karody, Plant Head, Bangalore, said, “We have been consistent in our production and delivery of ABS and ESC units to OEMs in India and other markets. In India, there is a surge in adoption of the safety technologies because of the recent safety legislation and growing consumer awareness. With our wide portfolio of safety technologies and standardized production process, we are supporting OEMs with quality products, thus, contributing to road safety value chain”.
In the Market, For the Market
Localizing is at the core of the company’s strategy in India, creating a value chain starting from marketing, R&D to production and sales. On the R&D front, a dedicated engineering team at Technical Center India (TCI), designs, develops and validates products specific to the market and customer requirement. One such example is the development of one channel ABS solution for 2-wheelers which is serving both India and Asian market. TCI today supports end-to-end product development from requirement engineering to product build-up and testing in specific areas encompassing software, electronics and mechanics.
“With a state-of-the-art production facilities and highly skilled engineering team, we have created a system that is capable of delivering technologically advanced products, right from conceptualization to production, in India. It is expected that ESC will be mandated in India by 2022-23 timeframe, along with ABS, ESC will further enhance the vehicle safety and provide increased comfort to the driver”, says Krishan Kohli.
Anti-Lock Braking Systems
A pioneer in the technology, the company recently celebrated 50 years of Continental ABS. The system was first presented at the IAA in 1969. Continental has variety of products suiting different segments of vehicle. For instance, the MK 100 ABS Entry has been designed for the vehicle segments A, B and C in the growing markets. The packaging is compact and extremely light, at less than 1,200 grams. Furthermore, throughout the MK 100 product family, the hydraulic and electrical interfaces are compatible with each other, which make the MK 100 easily applicable for platform concepts of car manufacturers wanting to benefit from a truly scalable product range.
Electronic brake systems for motorcycles have figured among Continental’s solutions since 2006. Up until now, the two-channel ABS MK 100 MAB or three-channel MK 3-2 MAB (Motorcycle Anti-lock Brake System) has been available as a mid-range feature, while the MK 100 Motorcycle Integral Brake System (MIB) has been available as the ultimate feature. Wheel speed sensors provide the necessary raw data, depending on the system. An affordable, high-performance entry-level system to improve the active safety of motorcycles, is the one-channel ABS, MiniMAB. With a box volume of significantly less than 300 cubic centimeters and weighing roughly 420 grams, the MiniMAB is light and can be easily applied to suit the widest range of 2-Wheelers.
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
ESC, presently the most important active safety systems, prevents critical vehicle states from developing. At the same time, ESC is a prerequisite for further safety technologies like Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. The high-performance MK 100 system offers all functions, from basic ESC to a high-end system with the convenience and performance features of future brake-by-wire technology.
Factory of the Future
With the help of Industry 4.0, Continental is making one of the world’s largest electronics production networks in the automotive industry fit for the future. Continental is on the right path to establishing a smart factory, already using Big Data applications and cooperative robots. The production lines are highly standardized, and all the machines are interconnected for highest level of traceability and Management Information System (MIS) for real time process details. This helps in achieving robust production processes with a zero-defect strategy and high utilization rates. Making the right decisions in daily production even faster, more flexibly and efficiently. This eventually helps in attaining lowest possible energy consumption and emissions.
Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent, and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2018, Continental generated sales of €44.4 billion and currently employs more than 240,000 people in 60 countries and markets.
The company has been present in India for close to 50 years, through technology partnerships (Continental Tires since 1974) and joint ventures for its various businesses. Today the tier 1 automotive supplier, tire manufacturer and industrial partner operates across India – with over 8000 employees across 15 locations, including eight plants that cater to the Indian market and exports, and a Technical Center that supports Continental’s global R&D activities.