www.autotechreview.

com February 2015 | Volume 4 | Issue 2

Now, Also
AvAilAble oN

Its on

14 IntervIew
Balraj Bhanot, Chairman, Transport
Engg Divisional Council, BIS

18 Study
Identifying Attractive Export
Opportunities for Components to China

60 new vehIcle
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Baby S Ups The Ante

SuSpenSIon SyStemS
efficient future concePts Powered by
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SP37 TPMS 4 in 1 sensor with integrated RF transmitter

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n High integration level reduces overall system component count

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n Pre-calibrated pressure sensor system for instant use

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 Editorial

CONCURRENT DEVELOPMENT
Dear Reader,

At a time when Toyota and Honda have renewed their pledge for hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles,
Elon Musk, Chief Executive of Tesla Motors have called them extremely silly. While this might rake up
debates, the good news is that fuel cells continue to prove their might as an alternative to fossil fuels,
along with the growth in electric mobility.

At the just concluded 2015 North American International Auto Show, Honda showed off its hydrogen-
powered FCV concept, while Toyota displayed its hydrogen fuel cell-powered production model, Mirai.
In fact, Toyota has gone on record saying it is redrawing its estimates for the Mirai, thanks to greater
demand for the fuel cell car. Since December 2014, the company has received over 1,500 orders, against
its planned production of 700 Mirai cars this year.

The TIME magazine, in one of its analysis last year wrote that advanced biofuels and nuclear fusion
can still make a fair claim to the title of fuel of the future, but hydrogen fuel cells will become a fuel of
the present in 2015. That could be true only in the case of Japan, which is aiming to put-up 100
hydrogen filling stations by the end of this calendar year. No other country seems as optimistic as
Japan, at least in the current context.

Lets look at the Indian scenario. The National Hydrogen Energy Road Map, which was launched in
2006, envisaged the demonstration of one million vehicles on road by 2020. The target may well be
called ambitious, but noteworthy are the attempts some of the vehicle manufacturers are making in this
regard. Tata Motors, for instance, in collaboration with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)
developed the countrys first hydrogen fuel cell bus, which was demonstrated in 2013. M&M has also
been developing products that run on hydrogen, but concerns over the supply of hydrogen remain one
of the primary barriers.

In fact, to make any of these alternate solutions mainstream, the need is to create a more inclusive
ecosystem that makes availability of greener fuels easy, and one that also helps creation of necessary
infrastructure. Rather than focussing on one, concurrent development of biofuel, electric and hydrogen
technologies is the need of the hour.

Deepangshu Dev sarmah

Editor-in-Chief
New Delhi, February 2015

@deepangshu

autotechreview.com F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5 Volu m e 4 | Issue 2 1

 Cover Story

suspension systems
efficient future concepts

24, 30, 36 | Suspension plays a critical role in the safety of any vehicle and its overall behaviour on
varied surfaces. From a stage, where suspensions were primarily designed to ensure occupants could just
about bear the shocks filtering through the road, weve today reached a stage where computers can
foresee road conditions and prepare the suspension adjustment beforehand, eliminating almost all of the
perceivable cabin movement. In this issue, Auto Tech Review takes a look at the work being done to
improve the ride quality and safety of future vehicles.

gueSt Commentary

12 Innovation: Are We Ready

for The Next Century?
Atul Sareen, Managing Director, Infor India

IntervIeW

14 Technology Available, Willingness To

Implement Though Is Missing
Balraj Bhanot, Chairman, Transport Engg Divisional
Council, Bureau of Indian Standards

2
 contents

neWs cover story shopfloor

4 Interactions 24 Efficient Concept Design of Twist 56 Premiumness to Remain Hallmark,

10 Events Beam Rear Axles But Localisation Key
Xiangfan Fang, Kanlun Tan
neW vehicle
stuDy 30 Modular System for
Electrical Drive Axles 60 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Baby S
18 Identifying Attractive Export Tomas Smetana, Michael Berger, Ups The Ante
Opportunities for Components Matthias Gramann, Michael Mitariu-Faller
to China DecoDing technology
36 Optimisation of Roll Vibration
Damping of A Vehicle 64 Suspension Systems Defining
Alexander Pieper, Khanh Chau Le, Vehicle Character
Jrgen Klberer Arun Jaura

technology others

42 Co2 Reduction Through Small 01 Editorial

Displacement in Combination with 03 Imprint
Biofuels
Bastian Lehrheuer, Patrick Hoppe,
Marco Gnther, Stefan Pischinger

48 When Automakers Invaded A

Consumer Electronics Show

52 Datsun Go+
Adding to Space, Value

FolloW uS on @autotechreview1 Cover FIgure Lexus

ImprInt

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I N T E R A C T I O N ASHOK LEYLAND

ASHOK LEYLAND | TECHNOLOGICALLY READY FOR ELECTRIFIED CV MOBILITY

Venkataraman informed us that the company been any singular contribution from India as the
is already working with an undisclosed company company follows a global engineering model.
to bring down the costs of the electric drivetrain. There are Indian engineers working on global pro-
The company aims to retain all positive driving jects and are part of a regular knowledge transfer
and environmental characteristics of the bus process, he said. Responding to the scope of wid-
through this initiative, while lowering its accessi- ening electric CVs, he said that the company
bility cost. already has the technology to cater to segments
Batteries continue to be the most critical tech- such as intermediate commercial vehicles (ICVs),
nology for EVs. Battery technology is globally and can introduce them if demand builds up.
going through a progressive stage, he said, The company is also open to working with
adding the weight of the lithium-ion cell stack in Indian suppliers in ways, wherein global suppliers
the Versa is about 800 kg. There are multiple so- set shop in India to supply and the Indian part-
lutions being worked upon to not just increase the ners help lower the costs. As the market matures,
power output of cells but also reduce their weight the scope of these partnerships can be expanded
and improve their positioning and packaging further, said Venkataraman. The company already
Ashok Leyland recently unveiled the Versa electric within the vehicle. has an electric version of the Dost LCV indige-
bus from its UK arm Optare plc, at the Bus & Talking of the acceptability of such buses, he nously developed and has also developed an elec-
Special Vehicles Show organised by SIAM in told us that being a major electric bus provider in tric truck and bus as part of a technology devel-
Greater Noida. During the course of the show we the UK, the company has witnessed encouraging opment programme.
met T Venkataraman, Senior Vice President, response from passengers. Many people prefer to Theres a primary focus on hybrid technology
Global Buses, Ashok Leyland, who talked to us take an electric bus instead of their vehicles as within the company. It must be noted that ALL has
about the new bus, EVs and their potential in they find the low vibration and sound levels of the already developed a hybrid system specifically for
India, and also shared some future plans. bus to be more comfortable than their personal India, instead of tweaking an internationally-
vehicles, Venkataraman added. The sound of a sourced technology. Combining the skills of the
EV MOBILITY IN CV SECTOR diesel bus is rated at about 82 db, while the elec- Indian and global supply chain, Ashok Leyland is
tric bus is much quieter between 55 to 57 db. For ready to cater to any forms of electric mobility in
One might question the potential of EVs in the reference, an average human conversation is the Indian CV space, Venkataraman concluded.
commercial vehicle (CV) space, considering even rated at about 60 db.
two-wheelers are struggling with electric power-
trains. However, the technology actually makes a ENGINEERING NEW PRODUCTS
lot of sense in some commercial applications.
These would typically involve intra-city applica- In terms of engineering for the Versa, there hasnt TExT: Arpit Mahendra
tions such as airport shuttles or tarmac and
feeder services among others.
Apart from offering the usual benefits of zero
emissions and lower sound, the Optare bus can
travel about 150 km on a single charge of about
six hours, Venkataraman said, making it fit to
perform most intra-city roles. In addition, theres
also an option of superchargers, which can rapidly
charge the battery to majority of its capacity in as
short as 90 minutes.
We were told that in terms of running costs,
the electric bus can travel a kilometre in one
unit of electricity on an average, making it sig-
nificantly cheaper to run than a comparative
diesel bus. Coupled with the lower number of
moving parts and lesser maintenance expenses,
the bus should be able to prove more profitable
than a diesel bus in the long-run, despite its
higher initial purchase price.

4 www.autotechreview.com
I N T E R A C T I O N TATA MOTORS, TELIT

TATA MOTORS | WIDENED PRODUCT APPROACH TO DRIVE BUS BUSINESS

At the recently concluded Bus & Special Vehicle
Show 2015 in Greater Noida, Tata Motors launched
its Tata SKOOLMAN telematics service. The new
service enables parents to track the arrival and
departure of their children in real time through
SMS alerts, live tracking on a map or via a mobile
phone application. Tata SKOOLMAN also provides
an effective fleet management tool for schools/
bus fleet operators to plan bus routes better and
manage their school bus fleet more effectively.
On the sidelines of this launch, we caught up with
R Ramakrishnan, Senior Vice President, Com-
mercial Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors to
discuss the companys upcoming products and
the health of the overall CV sector in the country.
UPCOMING PRODUCTS & PROSPECTS
but in real conditions the number could be much
higher. We were told that the company already has
about 50 orders for such buses for the JNNURM
scheme and with more cities going the BRT way,
the potential is bright.
Ramakrishnan also talked about the Ultra
Midi 900 mm AC bus, which is a medium-sized
bus made for higher operating efficiency for state
transport authorities. This bus is part of the
second phase of JNNURM and is made for sub-ur-
ban transportation, the focus area for the govern-
ment scheme. The name Midi depicts the medi-
um-size and has been designed keeping in mind
the sub-urban road conditions. These buses are
equipped with ISBe Cummins engines mated to a
new six-speed overdrive gear box and cable shift
mechanism. This combination not only reduces
driver fatigue but also increases fuel-efficiency
and offers occupants with a lower NVH.
Talking of the progress on the electric-hybrid
front, we were told that the company will supply
some hybrid buses in the JNNURM-II scheme. As
regards the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan
(NEMMP), he said despite the governments efforts,
there is a long way to go and a lot to do before any
significant change starts taking shape.
In addition, the company is happy with the
success of its Ultra range of buses and is looking at
adding more combinations involving larger and
smaller seats in order to cater to a wider spectrum
of applications. While Ramakrishnan didnt give us
any concrete details he did mention that the
company is looking to play some sort of a role in the
premium segment of buses in the coming time.
OUTLOOK
The bus segment generally remains more stable
than other commercial vehicle segments, Ram-
akrishnan said. The ongoing slowdown, however,
has turned out to be more detrimental than ex-
pected and the bus business too has shrunk by
about 20 %. The only segment that has remained
stable during these times is the school bus
segment. This segment accounts for about 30 %
of the bus divisions revenues, and continues to
grow. Keeping in mind the reviving demand from
multiple sectors, Ramakrishnan expects things to
start turning positive in the later part of 2015.
He also mentioned that the government is
keen on implementing the bus body code, which
will ensure that buses meet certain standards of
construction. This law will ensure that bus body
building can be done only by accredited and certi-
fied companies. If enforced properly, Ram-
akrishnan believes this law can prove beneficial
to OEMs as they would be able to meet the re-
quirements and in turn improve the quality and
safety of the vehicles too.
TExT: Arpit Mahendra

On display at the show was the Long City Bus, an

articulated bus measuring 17.95 m and often
considered as a key link in formulating efficient
rapid urban mass transport systems. Ram-
akrishnan told us that the bus has been devel-
oped keeping in mind large cities. Owing to the
swivelling design, the bus can manoeuvre in a
space required by a standard bus, while carrying
more people at the same time. The bus has also
been designed to fulfil the needs of a bus rapid
transit (BRT) system and the door height and po-
sition can be adjusted to meet either BRT or
normal road requirements.
Keeping in mind the higher occupancy, engi-
neers have included a powerful engine, which
ensures better cooling inside the cabin, said
Ramakrishnan. Design-wise, the bus can accom-
modate 47 seated people and about 48 standees,

6 www.autotechreview.com
 TELIT INDIA | M2M SOLUTIONS PART OF INDIAS FUTURE
Telit, a global provider of machine-to-machine
(M2M) interface solutions, is confident of good
prospects in India, especially in terms of automo-
tive telematics. Ashish Gulati, Country Head, Telit
India spoke to us about M2M solutions provided
by the company, growth seen from the automotive
industry, and some of the recent technological ad-
vances. He said OEMs are looking to include tele-
matics and diagnostic tools to track vehicles, as
well as use similar technologies for better mainte-
nance of vehicles.
RECENT TRENDS
Gulati said that apart from economic growth and
favourable government policies, the action of
foreign players developing and introducing latest
technologies is set to drive the Indian automotive
sector further. Some of these technologies include
the integration of M2M telematics applications,
resulting in the conversion of vehicles into moving
information posts and providing vehicle tracking.
He added that the growth of telematics in many
developing and developed countries is primarily in
four types of service areas safety, information,
navigation and remote diagnostics. Even though
the automobile industry in India has grown
sharply in the last few years, telematics is still in
its nascent stage, offering high growth opportuni-
ties to market vendors.
OEMs are increasingly focusing on connected
cars to significantly improve the driving experience,
noted Gulati. He said India is going to have its own
satellite-based positioning system in the form of
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
(IRNSS) being developed by the Indian Space Re-
search Organisation (ISRO). Additionally, a lot is
being done in the area of Intelligent Transport
Systems, where the Government of India is taking
initiatives towards the digitisation of vehicular in-
formation, he claimed. This information can
then be utilised towards driver and pas-
senger safety, by using a combi-
nation of technologies.
Telits automotive
business, which includes
telematics, has increased in
size by a good amount in the last few
months, Gulati said. He added that this was
mainly due to the rise in sales of telematics
autotechreview F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5 Volu m e 4 | Issu e 2
devices by various public service vehicles due to
increase in security concerns in the country. Even
OEMs have shown interest over the last few years
on providing tracking systems for vehicles. One
method would be to include telematics into the
existing navigation system of the vehicle, and the
other is to supply the telematics device as a stan-
dalone box.
NEW SOLUTIONS
Some of the telematics solutions offered by the
company include connectivity with both GPS and
GPRS, simple tracking for two-wheelers, fuel moni-
toring, engine monitoring and engine diagnostics.
With regards to on-board diagnostics (OBD), the
company is working on OBD dongles, which is
seeing some demand from larger OEM dealers. This
dongle is a highly portable and is capable of pro-
viding diagnostics of the car very easily.
GLOBAL PROJECTS
One of the main projects in Europe that is ex-
pected to come into mass effect in 2016 is the
eCall project. eCall is a European initiative in-
tended to bring rapid assistance to motorists in-
volved in a collision anywhere in the European
Union. Clients of the company have begun pre-
trials of the system, which is claimed to be a big
product for Telit.
Another project that Telit is working closely
with its customers is with regards to two-wheel-
ers in Latin America. There is a mandate in the
region that all two-wheelers will need to have
tracking devices by 2016, for which it is working
with two-wheeler manufacturers. The company is
also in talks with Indian two-wheeler manufactur-
ers, since India is the largest maker of two-wheel-
ers, to provide telematics solutions.
ROLE OF M2M IN SETTING UP
SMART CITIES
Gulati said the Indian Governments plan to
develop smart cities employs information and
communication technologies to use resources effi-
ciently and intelligently, resulting in cost and
energy savings, improved quality of life, and
reduced environmental footprint. Mobility and
M2M technologies will play a vital role in realising
the governments vision of 100 smart cities, as
well as enhancing the delivery of healthcare and
education services, he added. Smart cities in turn,
will also ensure that Internet of Things (IoT)
becomes a reality in India, making everyday
objects readable, recognisable, locatable, ad-
dressable and controllable via the internet. The
data collected by connected devices and M2M
technologies can aid immensely in smart govern-
ance, Gulati noted.
ROUND UP
Telit believes that telematics solutions are needed
for all passenger vehicles, either as a part of the
infotainment devices, or as a standalone product.
Gulati concluded that an M2M policy is needed
from the Government, so that a standard can be
followed by all players in this sector, thereby stim-
ulating its growth.
TExT: Naveen Arul
7
I N T E R A C T I O N SOUTHERN BATTERIES
SOUTHERN BATTERIES | RETAINING CORE COMPETENCY WITH LEAD-ACID CHEMISTRY
Southern Batteries Pvt Ltd (SBPL) is one of the
newest entrants into the automotive battery
market, with manufacturing of batteries for trans-
portation having started just a couple of years
back. The company aims to become one of the
leading providers of automotive starting, lighting,
ignition (SLI) batteries in the country, and expects
to gain a strong foothold in the market in the next
few years.
The company has been in the Indian market
under the brand name Hi-Power for over three
decades, with products like lead-acid tubular,
valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA), flat plate and
traction batteries.
In a recent interaction, John Albert, President,
Research and Development, Southern Batteries
spoke about battery technology in general as well
as the state of lithium-ion battery technology in
India. Albert believes there is enough scope for
development in the field of lead-acid batteries,
since the chemistry still has a number of innova-
tions that need to be discovered.
AUTOMOTIVE BATTERIES
Although SBPL is new in the transportation space,
it has a complete range of SLI products for the
automobile sector covering light commercial vehi-
cles (LCV) and heavy commercial vehicles (HCV).
It manufactures batteries that range in current
charge from 2.5 to 14 A. The company has been
carrying out considerable amount of field valida-
tions over the past two years that have given it
significant confidence, Albert said. SBPL is
looking at manufacturing two-wheeler batteries,
once it establishes its current range of transpor-
tation batteries.
The complete range of automotive batteries of
SBPL, both hybrid and maintenance free types,
have been developed by the in-house research
and development (R&D) team, keeping Indian
working conditions in consideration. The compa-
nys focus is on the replacement and retail
markets in the LCV and HCV segments for OE sup-
plies in FY16. With this in mind, the company has
set-up its third and biggest battery manufactur-
ing facility in Bangalore, which will exclusively
manufacture automotive batteries. SBPLs Unit 1
manufactures VRLA products, while Unit 2 pro-
duces batteries for industrial applications.
In recent times, batteries for transportation
8 www.autotechreview.com
business are undergoing remarkable transitions
across the globe, said Albert. One main change is
in terms of products capable of meeting the Idle
Start Stop (ISS) requirements in relevance to
reduced carbon footprints and optimal usage of
fossil fuels. India has been trailing in terms of
present trends due to the lack of self-initiatives
and R&D efforts, and has been comfortably sourc-
ing the technologies from developed countries.
Albert said these technologies most often do not
meet the challenges of Indian working conditions,
especially in terms of road infrastructure and
driving difficulties.
LEAD-ACID VERSUS THE REST
Albert said lead-acid technology has transformed
enormously in the last 150 years, and will contin-
ue to see more innovations for a long time. He
added that lead-acid will not be over-shadowed
by chemistries like lithium-ion anytime soon and
this is the main reason for SBPL to retain its core
competency with lead-acid battery products.
Lead-acid electrochemistry is much simpler than
the comparative lithium technologies, and does
not need advanced battery management systems
for its operations.
SBPL strongly believes that the lead-acid
battery chemistry will continue to remain the most
powerful stored energy options for India, noted
Albert. Other battery technologies including high
temperature sodium-nickel, lithium-ion and fuel
cells will continue to remain in exploratory levels,
and would take very long to become an alternate
to lead-acid chemistry. The main reasons for lithi-
um-ion technology not being manufactured in
India include requirement of sophisticated and
advanced facilities, pre-existing manufacturing
infrastructure in other countries and low demand
from non-electronic segments.
R&D
SBPL takes up all its R&D activities in-house. Al-
though a small unit with six to seven engineers,
and their support staff, the unit works on develop-
ing products and processes across the range of
industrial, VRLA and transportation batteries,
said Albert, adding that continuous product im-
provements and innovations are the companys
strength. The team works on benchmarking prod-
ucts through new designs and innovative materi-
als to optimise performance needs. Not having
an overseas collaboration for technology inputs
has been a strength for the company, to self-ex-
plore and meet the challenges and market
demands, Albert said.
The R&D team is currently working on new gen-
eration materials to meet the challenges of life
cycle demands from the energy storage system and
renewable energy segments. The team takes up all
work for SBPL relating to validating components,
product development and product-applied research
in terms of materials, engineering and tool designs.
The team also has access to international research
work for fundamentals, and takes up the task of
translating them into applied work.
TExT: Naveen Arul
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E v E n t s BSVS, SIAT 2015, VIBRANT GUJARAT
SIAM | 4TH BUS & SPECIAL VEHICLES SHOW ORGANISEd
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers
(SIAM) recently organised the fourth edition of the
Bus and Special Vehicles Show in Greater Noida.
Inaugurated on 15 January, 2015, the show was
organised with the support of the Union Ministry
of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Ministry
of Road Transport & Highways and the Association
of State Road Transport Undertakings.
The show attracted OEMs involved in develop-
ment of buses, SUV/ MUV, pick-up, special appli-
cation vehicles and supporting suppliers such as
batteries and tyres. The show offered a common
10
platform for stakeholders of the commercial
vehicle industry to showcase their technical capa-
bilities and meet new partners.
After a prolonged slowdown, the Indian
medium & heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV)
segment is finally showing some signs of recovery.
While the recovery isnt expected to be swift, the
bus segment in particular has finally started
showing signs of recovery after posting a growth
of close to 20 % in December 2014, vis--vis the
same month last year.
With the governments focus on developing a
nationwide transportation infrastructure, the
long-term future seems bright for this segment.
As smaller towns get better roads to support in-
creasing population, the public transport system
is expected to undergo a significant growth in the
next few years. Bus makers at the show displayed
through their products their readiness for the re-
quired technology in areas such as alternative
powertrains, body styles, lightweighting and much
more. Government representatives present at the
show affirmed that policy-making will continue to
encourage the growth of the industry through
better planning and easing decision-making.
Another segment that is showing long-term
promise is that of special application vehicles,
which are rapidly finding a strong following
across the country. Using such vehicles allows op-
erators to maximise their operating efficiency,
leading to higher returns. In wake of this trend,
some companies showcased specialised vehicles
at the show. The show also attracted participation
from some SUV and MUV makers.
Attendance at the show comprised of industry
stakeholders, fleet operators, students and
general visitors as well.
(Auto Tech Review was a media partner
of the event)
www.autotechreview.com
 SIAT 2015 | UNION MINISTERS ASSURE INdUSTRY OF CONTINUEd SUPPORT
Anant Geete, Minister of Heavy Industries & Public
Enterprises, Government of India has assured the
Indian automotive industry of complete support,
especially under Prime Minister Narendra Modis
ambitious Make in India campaign. The minister
recently inaugurated the 14th Symposium on In-
ternational Automotive Technology (SIAT) 2015 at
the Automotive Research Association of India
campus in Pune.
The three-day symposium, along with SIAT
Expo 2015 is organised by the Automotive Re-
search Association of India (ARAI) in association
with SAE India, NATRiP and SAE International.
SIAT this year was focussed on the theme of clean
and green technology covering various facets of
the industry, including powertrain, emission
control, advanced electronics, NVH, alternate
fuels, hybrid and electric vehicles and materials &
manufacturing, among others.
Inaugurating the symposium, the minister
called on the automotive industry to adopt best
practices and technologies. He lauded the indus-
try for gradually moving in the direction of global
safety levels. Geete also e-inaugurated the new
VIBRANT GUJARAT SUMMIT | dHI, SIAM PARTNER TO dEMONSTRATE xEVs
Taking a step forward towards realisation of the
goals under the National Electric Mobility Mission
Plan 2020 (NEMMP), the Department of Heavy In-
dustries (DHI) and Society of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers (SIAM) partnered to demonstrate a
few xEVs during the recently concluded Vibrant
Gujarat Summit and Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in
Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Four leadings OEMs, Maruti Suzuki with a Swift
Range Extender (REEV), Mahindra & Mahindra with
a Maxximo EV, Mahindra Reva with its e2o and Tata
autotechreview F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5 Volu m e 4 | Issu e 2
facility of ARAI at Chakan,
which will house the passive
safety and fatigue labs, and is
expected to start operations in
the coming fiscal year.
The inaugural session also
saw Vinod Dasari, President
and Chairman, ARAI; Rajan
Wadhera, VP, ARAI; Rashmi Urd-
hwareshe, Director, ARAI and Dr
David Schutt, CEO, SAE Interna-
tional address the delegates.
Later, Nitin Gadkari, Union
Minister for Surface Transport, Highways and
Shipping urged the industry and research organi-
sations to work towards making the country free
of vehicular pollution. The industry and research-
ers need to work to develop technologies that will
boost production of biofuels in the country and
make vehicles that would run efficiently on such
fuels, Gadkari said.
He said the government wants to make
production and distribution of biofuels more
liberal, and towards this, he assured he would
Motors with the Magic Iris EV demonstrated their
xEV products. Drives were also offered to VIP visi-
tors on a specified route. Simultaneously, vehicles
were displayed in the DHI-HPC theme pavilion to
create awareness among the general expo visitors.
In continuation of these efforts under NEMMP
2020, the Government of India is soon going to
launch the FAME scheme (a scheme for Faster
Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric
Vehicles in India).
Inaugurating the recently-concluded Bus &
Special Vehicle Show (BSVS),
Ambuj Sharma, Additional
Secretary, DHI had talked
about the allocation of ` 1,000
cr under the NEMMP for the
first two years for setting-up
charging infrastructure, tech-
nology development, demand
creation and pilot projects. De-
pending on the success of the
scheme in the initial two years,
the scheme will be fine-tuned
discuss with the finance minister the scope to
offer tax breaks for biofuel production, as well as
manufacture of automobiles that run on them. If
the Indian industry cant take up the challenge,
the government will have to invite companies
from abroad with expertise in the subject, he
warned. He also talked about the unacceptable
number of road accidents, and said
engineering, education and enforcement is the
approach we want to adopt to make roads and
driving safer in the country.
and taken up for implementation till 2020. NEMPP
has a goal of deploying six to seven million hybrid
and electric vehicles by 2020.
The Government of India is committed to
NEMMP 2020 and will take up many such initia-
tives along with SIAM. Going forward, xEV devel-
opment is expected to give the required push to
the Make in India dream in the automotive
sector, Sharma said.
Vishnu Mathur, Director General, SIAM said
SIAM has been supporting the Governments initi-
atives to promote hybrid electric vehicles. SIAM
members have demonstrated xEVs during CWG
2010, Auto Expo 2014 and now at Vibrant Gujarat
Summit 2015. Industry is now keenly looking
forward to the roll out of the FAME scheme to
enable large scale deployment.
(SIAM and DHI would like to acknowledge the
support provided by Confederation of Indian In-
dustry, Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd and the
Gujarat administration for organisation of the
event and making it successful.)
11
G U E S T coMMentary
INNOVATION: ARE WE READY
FOR THE NEXT CENTURY?
Since Karl Benz introduced the first automobile in 1886 and
Henry Ford brought the world mass production in 1914, man-
ufacturers have constantly worked to improve upon motor ve-
hicles and the processes they use to build them. Safety con-
cerns, environmental issues and consumer demands for speed
and comfort have driven advancements ranging from anti-lock
brakes and airbags to automatic transmissions and lumbar
supports. Volume, speed and cost demands have also forced
manufacturers to think outside the box about the production
process. Today we employ robotics, lean manufacturing sys-
tems and cellular assembly that streamline and speed up oper-
ations on the plant floor. While the technology has changed
over time, the goal of efficient and cost-effective manufactur-
ing remains constant.
Indian roads experienced the first car in 1897. Indians
were directly importing cars in few numbers till 1930. India is
one of the bigger markets in the world today, and majority of
the countrys car manufacturing industry is based around
three clusters in the south, west and north. The southern clus-
ter is the largest with 36 % of the revenue share, while the
western and northern clusters contribute around 32 % each.
12
ATUL SAREEN
Managing Director, Infor India
CHALLENGES
Today, the automobile industry in India is caught in a vortex of
rapid ramp-up of production, sales, lean manufacturing and cost-
cutting initiatives coupled with an unusual restlessness and
churn in human assets. It is passing through a critical phase of
increasing complexities and quantum changes. Further, the need
to align with global best practices, while managing strategic pri-
orities and uncertain government policies requires a realignment
of talent matrices.
The factors making the differences are unavailability of re-
sources like skilled labour and technology, usage of IT for deci-
sion making, high cost of production due to inflation and Gov-
ernment policies of indirect taxes such as customs and excise.
To remain competitive and improve growth, manufacturers
need to be innovative with appropriate R&D facilities. In the
coming decade, the main focus would be on enhancing efficiency
and productivity, and on innovation, driven by changing custom-
er demands. Price sensitivity of the Indian consumer, cost opti-
misation needs of manufacturers and increasing focus on envi-
ronmental concerns will drive critical changes in the market.
www.autotechreview.com
 With global supply chains, fierce competition, and increas-
ingly complex products, automotive manufacturers face demands
across all phases of the product development process. Infor pro-
vides scalable, attainable, cost-effective software for addressing
many of the automotive industrys issues in each phase of the
process conceptual design, engineering, manufacturing, and
marketing development.
SUPPLY CHAIN VISIBILITY
Logistics is a critical component to the total cost for any product
sourcing. As transportation costs become competitive, risks of
quality and safety decrease, and reliability for material invento-
ries increase and inventory levels decrease.
Executives identified visibility ranks even higher as a critical
means to effectively contain cost and address their other top
challenges; relying more on advanced analytics, in contextual
business intelligence (BI) simulation and modelling tools, to eval-
uate increasingly complex & dynamic risks and constraints, and
act on better insight.
Sharing information across the value chain will bring about
many changes, such as an increase in the process visibility, and
improvement in forecasting accuracy in order to reduce the Bull-
whip effect phenomenon. Lack of knowledge on prediction of
customers orders affects many SCM activities such as increase
and decrease in product stock, less efficiency in production
schedule, and disorganising of distribution system. In the same
way, the increase in inventory, production and distribution
schedule among Indias automotive organisations might be the
consequences of lack of proper prediction about the future order
in these organisations.
SMART PARTS
The key elements of todays automotive industry involve much
more than nuts and bolts. Electronics are now being heavily inte-
grated with the parts that make up a vehicles engine, transmis-
sion, chassis and brake systems in turn creating a more com-
plex component. For example, sensors and other electronic parts
must be embedded into mundane components like head gas-
kets and axles so that data on wheel load, torque levels and ther-
mal conditions can be fed back to the vehicle to improve safety
and drivability. Innovations rely upon the many ways that high-
tech capabilities can be integrated with the traditional parts and
manufacturing processes. It is crucial to not only improve the au-
tomotive components and systems but also to streamline the
steps involved in building them.
SMART QUESTIONS
Changing the mindset of manufacturing from a focus on the
physical product to a broader view of the entire automotive
system has been essential to taking advantage of opportunities
for innovation.
Todays automotive leaders know that its not enough just to
autotechreview F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5 Volu m e 4 | Issu e 2
understand how to forge, fabricate or assemble a part to meet the
customers specs. They must train their workforces to thoroughly
comprehend the operating value and characteristics of every sin-
gle part. Their employees need to constantly ask themselves,
which operating parameters of each part can improve the overall
operation of the vehicles they support. Then they can team with
customers to introduce enhancements. Its this kind of thinking
that is allowing visionary manufacturers to keep pace with the
evolving needs of OEMs, consumers and the industry as a whole.
SMART PEOPLE
So how does todays manufacturer ensure that its workforce
maintains the broad view needed for innovation?
First, management must buy in to the key elements of inno-
vation by maintaining collaborative dialogue with customers,
suppliers and partners. Organisations should share business in-
formation with the entire workforce, encourage employees to
submit new ideas and reward them for taking calculated risks.
Second, todays automotive manufacturers must ensure they are
attracting the best and brightest people into their workforces.
Many companies are still struggling with filling the gaps cre-
ated, when a flood of experienced automotive professionals left
the industry during the struggling economies of 2007 through
2009. Conveniently, industry leaders have been able to rely on
the very technology theyve used to improve their manufacturing
processes in order to attract and maintain employees with the ex-
act experience they need.
The recruitment process is especially easy for companies that
use the latest enterprise resource technology (ERP) solutions.
When todays 20-somethings see that the technology they are
able to use in manufacturing jobs is elegant and intuitive noth-
ing like the green screen systems their fathers had to work
with they are right at home.
The automotive world has to design products that will
launch in three years and last for 10. And six years from now,
it will also have to compete with the iPhone 10, which the
driver will have within easy reach of the steering wheel. Put
another way, if an auto manufacturer had begun working on
social networking site integration several years ago, they
would just now be getting ready to launch a Myspace or
Workspace or homepage feature today.
Raised on iPhones, iPads and social media, the incoming
manufacturing workforce already knows how technology allows
them to access and use real-time information in their personal
lives. And now, more than a century after the assembly line be-
gan its run, the evolving workforce is ready to use the tools of its
generation to drive innovation into the industrys next century.
With newer, smarter and disruptive solutions being introduced
by some of the best enterprise application players of the world,
the automotive industry is all geared up for a tremendous growth
into the next century.
read this article on
www.autotechreview.com
13
i n t e r v i e w AUTOMOTIVE STANDARDS

TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE, WILLINGNESS TO

IMPLEMENT THOuGH IS MISSING
One of the most promising automotive markets in the world, India continues to grapple with the lack
of adequate standards across various domains. Many such standards, like it has been pointed out in
this interview, are mature and ready to be rolled out, but a collective willingness to implement them
continues to be found wanting. We spoke to Balraj Bhanot, Chairman, Transport Engg Divisional
Council (TEDC), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to find some answers.

Balraj Bhanot is a double graduate in Engineering, besides hold-
ing Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Management & MBA
from FMS Delhi. He is currently Chairman, Transport Engg Divi-
sional Council (TEDC) at the Bureau of Indian Standards, the
national body that frames Indian standards in the field of automo-
biles, shipping, aircraft and metro, et cetera. He also chairs TED
28 committee of BIS, dealing with Intelligent Transport System
(ITS). He has been a consultant to numerous organisations,
including the World Bank and ADB, and is a member of numer-
ous GOI committees.
He was a consultant to Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit Sys-
tem Ltd (DIMTS) for introducing low floor buses in Delhi, and was
instrumental in drawing its tender for modern low floor buses. A
former Director of the Automotive Research Association of India,
he is also the founder Chairman of the CMVR-Technical Standing
Committee besides heading Automotive Standards Committee
(AIS) and being the Chairman of SAE Western India.

14 www.autotechreview.com
ATR _ What to your mind are the most
important standards that are required to
be adopted in the country today?
BAlRAj BhAnoT _ The most important
are the standards on crash; child restraint
system; Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)
and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) for
passenger vehicles. Besides, Bus and
Truck Code for commercial vehicles need
to be expedited as it is pending for a long
time. Standards for Intelligent Transport
System (ITS) in general can play a crucial
role in the entire transport system to
enhance safety and awareness. Need for
ITS is catching up pretty fast, yet efforts
towards unified ownership by a single
ministry needs to be established. I
thought BIS can play a significant role in
ITS, because it is one area that cuts
across a number of ministries in the
government. ITS is important not just for
the road transportation sector, but for
railways, general utilities, municipal
corporations and what not. In the
absence of any standard, customers find
it difficult to frame tenders, which delays
the process of introduction of ITS. This
is one lacuna that needs to be covered
up somehow, maybe through a high level
task force or even a mission mode.
ITS is also software dependent, and
India has tremendous expertise in this
domain. I strongly feel we have the
option of leapfrogging, and we can play a
huge role in promoting it globally. And
that is where standards become impor-
tant. Internationally, ISO has a little over
200 standards and our first effort was to
identify the ones that can be easily
adopted for the Indian requirements. In
parallel, work has been initiated in areas
like VTS (Vehicle Tracking System) and
RFID (Radio-frequency identification)
system as well. Besides, I am thinking of
starting a panel on ITS system used in
buses. We are also trying to identify suit-
able experts. This is an on-going process,
and we continue to study international
standards for local adoption.
ITS of course is a large area. Give us spe-
cific examples of standardisation work
that is happening currently.
Vehicle Tracking Systems (VTS), which is
based on GPS or GPRS technologies, is
another area that demands urgent atten-
tion. The recent unfortunate incident
involving a cab service in Delhi could
autotechreview F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5 Volu m e 4 | Issu e 2
have probably been avoided if we had
proper and adequate tracking standards.
We have now created a group and are
asking more people to join in with their
suggestions and recommendations.
Similarly, we are also developing
another unique standard on display
boards/ devices for buses. It started with
buses in Delhi during the Commonwealth
Games. Although many other states have
started adopting these devices, there is no
uniform standard. And that allows vari-
ous vendors to enter into contracts with
state corporations without a standard
product or solution. Our effort has been to
set a uniform standard architecture for
these display devices.
For the first time, multiplexing
wiring in buses has also been intro-
duced. Efforts are on to frame a unified
architecture for that as well. ITS is
indeed a vast area, and our effort has
been to create a basic standard architec-
ture that allows the industry to trans-
form it to customised requirements.
Technologies that help vehicles communi-
cate with each other and with the infra-
structure is also developing at a fast pace.
Is the TEDC discussing this?
Yes, we are. But for Vehicle to Vehicle
(V2V) and Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I)
communication to take place, we need a
standard frequency allocation from the
Department of Telecommunications
(DoT). Unfortunately, we dont have that
V2V and V2I can succeed only when we have a standard frequency allocation from the DoT
yet. That is one of the reasons why some
of the high-end vehicles on our roads
today have disabled their communication
features. Offering such communication
would in fact be deemed illegal. The BIS
and the Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways (MoRTH) are aware of this
issue. We continue to push for this, but
unfortunately we havent moved much
forward on this.
We appreciate that the Department of
Urban Development has issued guidelines
for installation of ITS equipment in buses.
However, the problem is, due to the lack
of uniform standards, the kind of ITS we
need isnt being addressed or used.
Mostly, it is limited to a particular ven-
dors knowledge and expertise. We are
not fully utilising the opportunity availa-
ble within ITS.
A panel is now looking at the frame-
work required for ITS in buses. Finalisa-
tion of a standard would ensure the basic
requirements under ITS is met, and any-
one wishing to offer more will of course
be welcomed.
Are you looking at a specific timeline for
rolling out the ITS standard? Are we pre-
pared as a country?
Our effort is to roll this out at the earliest,
but the fact is, we have limited knowledge
and expertise in the area of ITS. We are
now trying to rope in experts from the
academia and have spoken to the Society
of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to help us
15
i n t e r v i e w AUTOMOTIVE STANDARDS
ABS must be made mandatory for all vehicles, while ESC should be brought in stages
identify experts who can work in this
area. There are many international ITS
conferences that are organised but there is
not a single body in India that either par-
ticipates or deputes people for participa-
tion. Thats an area of concern. There is
no ITS association in the country and
thats a big gap.
Are there global models that we
can adopt?
Yes, many countries have formed organi-
sations with multi-disciplinary expertise.
Something of that kind is required here
as well. We have talked to MoRTH on
this and have requested formation of
similar groups in India. I hope the minis-
try acts fast.
Could you give us a sense of the new
standards that are being worked upon in
the area of safety?
We are working on standards for crash
tests, which is scheduled to be rolled out
soon. Till recently, we were not ready
with our test facilities, but there have
been some movement in recent times.
The ARAI test facilities at Chakan, for
example, are developing fast. Im hopeful
of seeing a lot of development work in
this regard over the next two years.
Accident analysis also hasnt kicked-off in
the country?
True, we seem to be more concerned
16
about the number of deaths, and not keen
on finding the cause of such accidents. It
is common practice to blame the driver,
but we are not factoring in vehicle designs
or road designs. Why? We have started
collecting data, but analysis is lacking. I
hope accident analysis takes off in a big
way, because based on such analysis one
can even look at modifying some of our
regulations. All road fatalities must be
investigated in-depth and root cause anal-
ysis must be carried out.
There are two things that are very
important. First, ABS must be made man-
datory in all categories of vehicles, be it
commercial or personal. Secondly, Elec-
tronic Stability Control (ESC) must also be
made mandatory in stages. The technolo-
gies are available with everyone, so why
wait? The industry talks about the cost
factor, but safety should not be compro-
mised. We need to be more concerned
about human lives. The recent develop-
ment of bringing in mandatory ABS on
two-wheelers with engine displacements
larger than 125 cc is a welcome move.
Functional safety standard ISo 26262 is
gaining importance world over, although it
hasnt become mandatory. Are we looking
at this seriously?
Im trying to get the ISO 26262 standard
adopted in the BIS.
The uniform bus body code has been
stuck for over a decade now. Do you see
any movement in its implementation?
This is rather unfortunate, because we
first set this out in 2003 or so. The users
are now pushing for its implementation.
Henceforth, we should follow only the
specifications of the bus code. The latest
notification for implementation states
April 1, 2015 as the deadline. We under-
stand there are various lobbying groups
that continue to block it, but it is high
time we implement the bus code at the
earliest. The industry has been given suf-
ficient time to come around, and we
should not compromise on this. The ques-
tion is not about a few manufacturers, but
the users and society as a whole.
The truck code too, Im told, is at least
another two years away. Carrying open
overloaded cargo seems an Indian phe-
nomenon, and is an eyesore in front of
foreign visitors. Transporters merrily mod-
ify truck bodies which are hardly checked
at the time of annual fitness. We should
move towards closed containers, which
would also in some manner the address
of overloading. Enforcement is another
major concern that needs addressing fast.
What are your views on upgrading CMVR
to international standards? In the current
context, what are the specifics that need
to be addressed?
Like I said, there needs to be enormous
emphasis on mandatory safety features,
which modern technologies offer. xEVs,
hybrid vehicles, expediting crash worthi-
ness on vehicles, and tighter emission
norms by using CNG and LPG as alterna-
tives to petrol and diesel should also be
emphasised upon. Safety has to become a
priority. Setting-up of Inspection and Cer-
tification lanes throughout the country to
enforce compliance of safety norms on
running fleet on ground should be expe-
dited. Privatisation of enforcement of law,
as is done in countries like China, should
be encouraged. We have the necessary
technologies available with us, but the
required willingness to implement them is
the need of the hour.
InTERVIEW: Deepangshu Dev Sarmah
PhoTo: Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay
www.autotechreview.com
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S t u d y EXPORTS

IDENTIFYING ATTRACTIVE EXPORT

OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMPONENTS TO CHINA

With a share of 26 % by volume,

China is the largest auto market
in the world today. In terms of car
sales alone, China sells seven
times more than that of India.
Overall automobile production
increased at a CAGR of 6 % over
the last five years to touch 50 mn
units in 2013. All these suggest the
existence of a large opportunity for
Indian suppliers across a diverse
product range in the Chinese
market. A recent study was under-
taken by Avalon Consulting, in
partnership with the Automotive
Component Manufacturers Associ-
ation (ACMA), to identify target
customers and components with
potential for export. We bring you
excerpts from the study.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
There are several macro-economic
changes underway in China. This
includes a focus on rebalancing the
economy towards domestic demand, a
gradual appreciation of the Yuan, grad-
ual strengthening of its banking system
and diversifying export base. All this
will change the dynamics of its engage-
ment with India changes in the rela-
tive competitiveness will accelerate and
Chinese investment in India will
increase significantly.
The Chinese auto industry is the larg-
est in volume terms and akin to having
USA as our neighbour. In our view, the
decision in case of foreign JVs is often
taken at the global headquarters and
there is a need to involve the global par-
ent. However, there is a robust set of Chi-
nese players across automotive segments
in China, many of whom may be open to
sourcing from India. Even if specific
OEMs can be targeted within the Chinese
market, the opportunity can be quite
large. However, China also has a large
and thriving auto component industry,
which despite losing competitiveness in
recent times, will continue to be a formi-
dable competitor in the domestic market,
especially in built to print components.
Looking at the trade data of the two
countries and feedback from OEMs and
IPOs having experience in both geogra-
phies, we have identified specific export
opportunities across identified compo-
nents and OEMs in China, estimated at $
20 bn in 2013. This has been assessed in
terms of cost competitiveness, design
capability and openness of the OEM to
Indian suppliers and prioritised accord-
ingly. Of this, Priority 1 and 2 are esti-
mated at $ 7.5 bn and an additional $ 10
bn needs further exploration. An esti-
mated $ 3.3 bn may not be addressable
for specific reasons.
The opportunities have been drilled
down to identify specific component and
OEM combinations, which need to be
pursued by Indian component players

18 www.autotechreview.com
with specific OEMs/ Tier 1s in China.
However, accessing these opportunities
will require specific actions on the part
of the auto component companies and
support from the Indian Government.
BACKGROUND OF THE ENGAGEMENT
Indias trade deficit for auto components
with China has grown substantially to $
2.8 bn in 2013 and has hovered around
this figure for the last three years. There
have been significant macro-economic
developments in China and India, which
have narrowed the competitive advan-
tages that China traditionally enjoyed
over India rising labour costs in China
and the relative movements of the cur-
rencies of the two countries versus the
dollar have been the key factors respon-
sible for this.
Anecdotal evidence around Indian
OEMs buying components from China
also confirms the fact that there has been
a sharp reduction in the absolute quan-
tum of imports from China. In specific
components like two-wheeler aluminium
alloy wheels, Chinese companies are
now setting-up capacities in India to
serve the local market, as exports from
China are not competitive. Hence, this
seems to be an appropriate opportunity
for India to explore the possibility of
increasing exports to China, and possibly
narrow the trade deficit.
A rigorous analysis of macro-eco-
nomic and trade data was coupled with
research in India and China to compile
this report. More than 25 meetings were
held with Indian manufacturers, coupled
with over 50 interviews in China.
MACROECONOMIC CHANGES
IN CHINA
The China of the future will be different
from that of the past a gradual shift
towards a more domestic focused econ-
omy will happen, driven by macro-eco-
nomic challenges. Growth in China has
continued apace between 2008 and 2013,
and is still driven by investment and
trade. It has continued to be an impor-
tant destination of intra-Asian FDI and
has also continued to pursue an aggres-
sive outbound FDI policy driven by its
autotechreview F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5
1 Currency fluctuations over the last three years indexed to 100
need for energy and other resources. to ~ 15 % along the steel value chain)
However, the macro-economic trends driven by cost increases in basic raw
have yet to impact the overall China materials, rising labour costs and relative
India economic engagement model it movement of the currencies in opposite
continues to be trade driven and FDI directions, 1.
continues to be small but growing in Currency alone contributed to more
recent times. than 30 % change in relative competi-
In the same five year period, Chinese tiveness between 2009 and 2014. A large
imports have continued to grow sharply part of the competitiveness is driven
relative to Indian exports resulting in a more by pricing power as you move up
record deficit of ~ $ 35 bn in 2013 the value chain due to erosion of the
coming down from > $ 40 bn in 2012. raw material advantage for steel mak-
India has emerged as one of the key ing. Some of the other drivers of com-
markets for China, growing at a faster petitiveness are also likely to erode in
rate than most of the other key trading the years to come, including power tar-
partners, except Vietnam. India is as iffs and tax subsidies. The leeway in
large a market for China as some of the social security payments to manpower
key European countries. and the low interest rate regime will
FDI between India and China contin- also undergo changes.
ues to be negligible relative to the total Indias importance for China will
FDI in both countries, though the num- increase substantially in the context of
bers have seen a sharp upturn from China Chinas slowing growth and competi-
in recent years. While China continues to tiveness and its intent to further glo-
have a cost and pricing advantage versus balize its investments and trade.
India, the relative advantage has come
down significantly in recent years.
This can further erode in the
future as interest rates and
financial reforms happen
in China.
Manufacturing
Competitiveness
India vs China
Chinas manu-
facturing cost
competitiveness
vis--vis India
continues to
endure although
the magnitude of
the advantage has
declined significantly in
recent years (from ~ 24 % 2 PV and CV sales by country/ region 2013 volumes
Volu m e 4 | Issu e 2 19
S t u d y EXPORTS
Chinese Players Going Global
 SAIC bought Rover
 Dongfeng bought 30 % stake
in PSA
 Geely acquistion of Volvo
Focus on Chinese brands and
in-China IP
 Extra incentives for Chinese
brands offered by both
Chinese enterprises and JVs
 BYD and Daimler have
launched a joint brand Denza.
Could extend to Donfeng and
Nissan launching a variation
of Leaf
Focus on Green Technologies
 Major focus on green
technologies - electric vehicles
 China hoping to leapfrog
incumbents in green tech
 Subsidies for EVs and hybrids
3 Major trends in China
THE AUTO INDUSTRY IN CHINA
China, today, is by far the largest auto
market of the world in volume terms, 2,
growing at a CAGR of ~ 6 % over the
past four years, with a dip in 2012. Two-
wheelers have de-grown, while passenger
cars have grown at a CAGR of ~ 23 %.
The market has two broad segments
Chinese companies and MNC JVs.
Traditionally, Chinese auto sales have
4 India's auto components trade with China 2010 - 2013, USD billion
20
been predominantly clustered around cit-
ies located along Chinas eastern coast,
notably Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and
Shandong province. However, Chengdu,
Wuhan and Changchun, located away
from the coast and more towards the vast
hinterland, have benefitted from the gov-
ernments Go West campaign and the
corresponding investments in the devel-
opment of infrastructure, increasing trade
with Central Asia and availability of
skilled workforce. These cities have
evinced interest from a number of West-
ern OEMs, who have already set-up pro-
duction bases there in partnerships with
domestic OEM players.
However, MNC JVs operating in China,
in their current structure and ways of
functioning, are unlikely to be target cus-
tomers for Indian auto component
exports. In MNC JVs, the decision to
induct a new supplier is taken by either
the OEM at a global level (for critical com-
ponents) or by the JV locally, driven by
the local partner. JV volumes are high and
need highly automated lines or are often
different from India (e.g., Buick models
are very popular in the GM portfolio).
Hence, synergy with Indian operations is
often minimal and scale economics will
be a disadvantage. Thus, MNC JVs in
China are unlikely to be target customers
for exports. Smaller volume JVs like Ford
have shown an interest and can be
approached through India IPOs and
Global HQs.
Major Trends
The Chinese auto industry is forecasted
to grow at a healthy 6-8 % CAGR till
2020. This would make China the largest
auto market in the world, exceeding that
of Europe and the USA. Three distinct
trends have been visible in the auto
industry in China:
:: Chinese players trying to take their
brands global;
:: Focus on development of Chinese
brands and in-China IP; and
:: Focus on green technologies.
As a result, many Chinese companies are
looking for development partners, who
can help develop their brand, create IP
and service the global market, 3.
COMPETITIVENESS OF THE CHINESE
AUTO COMPONENT INDUSTRY
Like most manufacturing, the Chinese
auto component industry has also been
grappling with rapidly rising labour and
raw material costs in recent times. This
has particularly affected many units
operating in the Eastern region. The
larger groups are increasingly moving
inland (near Chongqing and Wuhan, the
Dongfeng belt) as a means to control
costs power costs here are reasonable
(with access to the hydro power from the
Three Gorges dams) and labour availabil-
ity being better than the East coast.
Feedback from multinationals OEMs
operating in China, Indian OEMs sourc-
ing from China and IPOs operating in
India indicates that exports from China
is losing competitiveness due to various
reasons, including withdrawal of vari-
ous export benefits, rising costs, and
appreciating currency.
However, in the domestic market, Chi-
nese auto component players continue to
remain highly competitive in auto com-
ponents across several categories like
casting and forgings, plastic components,
gears, etc., where the key requirement
from the OEM is built-to-print and does
not require significant design capabili-
ties. Significant economies of scale and
challenges faced in competing in the
domestic market (relationships, non-tar-
iff barriers, etc.) are key drivers for this
continued strength in the domestic mar-
ket. The larger Chinese auto component
companies are also increasingly investing
in automation to continue to remain
competitive and meet the growing scale
needs of OEMs.
Supplying from India will mean a
cost disadvantage of ~ 13-17 % mainly
due to the import duty of 10 %, making
it difficult for India to compete in the
built-to-print components. However,
www.autotechreview.com
despite this, the exports of auto compo-
nents from India to China, has grown in
recent years and the trade deficit has
been stagnant, 4.
After landing in China, the goods are
subject to VAT, surcharges as applicable,
similar to products made in China.
There may also be indirect taxes on
facilities, contracts etc. Several tax and
trade policies have been modified in the
last few years to reduce some of the
benefits available to Chinese industry. 5 Export opportunity defined in terms of the target auto components and target customers in China
There are no major non-tariff barriers
for auto components in general. How-
ever, in some hi-tech areas, there are Target Opportunity by Segment, Compo- The price competitiveness of Indian
some schemes protecting the local indus- nent and Customer Group auto components, even after taking
try such as control systems, high-speed This opportunity in China is estimated duties and logistics into consideration, is
precision bearings etc. Safety items need at ~ $ 20 bn in 2013, and is estimated listed below:
CCC certification, which may require to be ~ 6 % of the total auto compo- :: Connecting Rods: Seems to be attrac-
some time. Also, getting into relation- nent market in China. This is driven tive for Indian suppliers. Landed
ships with government backed compa- largely by PVs and CVs. Our target cus- price from India is ~ 7-40 % lower
nies may require security clearances, tomers account for ~ 22 % of the PV than China ex-factory price.
which can act as a barrier at times. market, ~ 56 % of the CV market and :: Pistons: Seems to be attractive for
Emission standards in China are ~ 70 % of the 2W market. Engine com- Indian suppliers. Landed price from
largely based on European standards ponents represent the largest opportu- India is more than 30 % lower than
with a few exceptions and are similar nity within the target customer base in China ex-factory price.
to India, but up-gradation plans are China, 6. Changan, Dongfeng, FAW, :: Lighting: PV lighting seems to
more aggressive. Loncin, Foton, Great Wall and Lifan be attractive for Indian suppliers.
emerge as the key target customers Landed price from India is almost
accounting for ~ 50 % of the target 14% lower than China ex-factory
IDENTIFICATION OF market between them. Engine compo- price
EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES nents and lighting within large CV and :: Muffler and Exhaust Systems: Does
PV makers like Changan, Dongfeng, not seem to be attractive for Indian
We have used a two-step approach to Foton, FAW and engine assemblers like suppliers. Landed price from India is
arrive at the potential list of auto compo- Weichai are the largest export opportu- comparable to China ex-factory price.
nents to be considered for potential export nities, which can be targeted. :: Shock Absorbers: 2W seems to be
opportunities to China (i) detailed anal- attractive for Indian suppliers.
ysis of auto component trade between Prioritisation of the Target Landed price from India is ~25%
India and China, and (ii) discussing with Market Opportunity lower than China ex-factory price.
Indian OEMs and component suppliers The target market opportunity has been However, 4W pricing is not attractive
and preliminary competitiveness evalua- prioritised based on the framework driven for Indian suppliers, where landed
tion. Based on this, we have explored by the two dimensions shown in 7. price from India is almost 16 %
export opportunity for the following auto
components in China:
Targeted auto components include sus-
pension items (mainly shock absorbers);
mufflers & exhaust; lighting & signalling
equipment; valves; rocker arms; cylinder
liners; pistons, piston pins & rings; con
rods; crankshaft & cam shaft. Other
potential components, but not included in
the final evaluation, include transmission
& transmission components; rubber gas-
kets; engine mounts; and friction materi-
als and its assemblies.
The overall export opportunity is
defined in terms of the target auto compo-
nents and target customers in China, 5. 6 Target opportunity by component in 2013, in bn USD

autotechreview F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5 Volu m e 4 | Issu e 2 21

S t u d y EXPORTS
7 Target market opportunity
8 Distinct opportunities that require to be pursued by Indian component players with specific OEMs/ Tier 1s
higher than China ex-factory price.
:: Crankshafts: Seems to have a mar-
ginal advantage. Landed price from
India is ~ 6 % lower than China ex-
factory price.
:: Engine Valves: Does not seem attrac-
tive for Indian suppliers. Landed
price from India is only ~ 3 % lower
than China ex-factory price.
:: Rocker Arms: Seems to be attractive
for Indian suppliers. Landed price
from India is almost 6 % lower than
China ex-factory price.
:: Cylinder Liners: Seems to be attrac-
tive for Indian suppliers. Landed
price from India is 5 % lower than
the ex-factory price in China.
Meanwhile, the design competitiveness of
Indian auto components varies across the
components shortlisted key engine com-
ponents show strong design capability
while others like mufflers and engine
valves show relatively lower capability.
22
Indian component players with specific
OEMs/ Tier 1s in China, 8.
CONCLUSION
While the opportunity for exporting auto
components to China looks promising,
accessing these opportunities will require
specific actions on the part of the auto
component companies. The most critical
issues would be to overcome the China
mindset, which makes Indian companies
look at China as a low cost source forget-
ting that it has a large and sophisticated
auto industry. Indian industry needs to
treat Chinese OEMs like global OEMs and
invest in building relationships.
At the same time, the Government
of India also needs to play a key role to
enable Indian suppliers to capitalise on
this opportunity. Towards this end,
events in China need to be planned to
engage Chinese OEMs, Chinese OEMs
need to be invited to India to visit and
evaluate suppliers on buying mis-
sions, and select categories can be
brought under the Market Linked Focus
Product Scheme (MLPFS).
PRIORITIZATION OF
EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES
The Priority I opportunity is estimated
at $ 3 bn, while Priority II opportunity
is estimated at $ 4.5 bn. The overall
opportunity could potentially reduce to
$ 17.3 bn as certain product segments
are not addressable. Within Priority I,
Beiqi Foton, Geely, Weichai and Lifan
are the key OEMs, while engine hard-
ware and lighting are key components.
Within Priority II, engine components
and lighting remain the major compo-
nents, while Great Wall, Dongfeng, Wei-
chai, Yuchai and Chongqing Changan
are the key OEMs.
There are certain opportunities that
do not appear to be addressable due to
specific reasons, while there are some
that need further exploration. To sum-
marise, there are some distinct opportu- Read this article on
nities that require to be pursued by www.autotechreview.com
www.autotechreview.com
C o v e r S t o r y SUSPENSION SYSTEMS

EFFICIENT CONCEPT DESIGN OF

TWIST BEAM REAR AXLES
Twist beam rear axles are lighter and less expensive than multi-link suspensions but cant be developed easily.
Thus, the University of Siegen developed a new analytical method for concept design, with which stiffness and
kinematics of twist beam axles can be evaluated within a few seconds.

iammacintosh | fotolia

24 www.autotechreview.com
 AUThOrS
PROF. DR.-ING. XIANGFAN FANG
is Director of the Institute of
Automotive Lightweight Design at
the University of Siegen (Germany).
DIPL.-ING. KANLUN TAN
is research Associate of
the Institute of Automotive
Lightweight Design at the
University of Siegen (Germany).
autotechreview Feb r u ar y 2 015
MOTIVATION AND STATEMENT OF
THE PROBLEM
With cost and weight advantages, the
twist beam rear axle has been increas-
ingly used for vehicles in low and middle
classes. However, in comparison to multi-
link suspensions, more development
efforts are required to improve the stiff-
ness under lateral force and the axle kine-
matics during cornering, which can cause
over-steering behaviours. The develop-
ments of the last decade led to significant
improvements in axle stiffness and kine-
matics, so that an increasing use of the
twist beam axle can be observed cur-
rently, also in higher class vehicles.
The main requirements for the concept
design of the twist beam rear axle include,
(a) the lateral, toe and camber stiffness,
as mentioned above; and (b) the kine-
matic toe and camber. The latter show the
changes of the toe and camber angles
during parallel and opposite wheel trav-
els. The lateral stiffness is defined as the
ratio of an applied lateral force at the
wheel contact point to the displacement
of the point in the vehicle transverse
direction. Similarly, the toe and camber
stiffness are the ratios of the same lateral
force to the changes of the toe and cam-
ber angles.
As can be seen in 1, all requirements
are simultaneously influenced by many
factors and there is also a strong depend-
ence between the requirements. The most
important influencing factors are the hard
points, the three-dimensional form of the
components and the sectional properties.
These influencing factors are also the vari-
ables, which must be defined during the
concept design. This means that the axle
stiffness and kinematics are mainly deter-
mined by its basic concept. Other factors,
such as design details, do have influence
on the strength and durability of the axle;
however, they have only small influence
on the axle stiffness and kinematics and
will not be further considered in the cur-
rent investigation.
In addition to the illustration of the
complex interactions, also clearly
shows an enormous design potential. On
one hand, the large number of the varia-
bles can provide a large variety of concept
possibilities, while on the other hand, the
design and optimisation of the twist beam
axle become very difficult due to these
Vo lum e 4 | I s su e 2
complex interactions between the differ-
ent variables, since local improvements of
one requirement may have negative
effects on the others.
This fact is the main challenge for the
concept design of the twist beam axle.
According to the state-of-the-art technol-
ogy, the kinematics of the rigid axle and
the independent suspension are usually
calculated using multi-body simulation
(MBS) and then optimised with numeri-
cal optimisation tools. Compared to the
twist beam axle, in which especially the
cross member is designed relatively soft,
the components of the rigid axle and the
independent suspension are much stiffer
and can be considered as rigid bodies in
those simulations. This assumption can-
not be applied to the twist beam axle,
since the deformation of the axle compo-
nents, particularly the bending and twist-
ing of the cross member, determine the
properties of the axle kinematics and
must not be neglected.
For this reason, a highly detailed, para-
metric MBS model with deformable com-
ponents is required to enable the concept
design and optimisation of the twist beam
axle. The large number of optimisation
variables and the high complexity of flexi-
ble multi-body models require a huge
computing capacity and a very long com-
putation time. Therefore, this CAE optimi-
sation method is rarely being used in the
industrial practice for the twist beam axle.
The commonly used approach in the
development of the twist beam axle starts
usually with several empirical or on
benchmarking-based concepts. They are
at first roughly designed with CAD and
then converted into finite-element and
MBS models. A concept evaluation con-
cerning the stiffness and kinematics can
only be carried out after the simulations.
The best concept must be further
developed and optimised via many opti-
misation steps. For this reason, many
resources must be invested in the CAD
and CAE works before the concept eval-
uation. Furthermore, the quality of the
concepts is highly dependent on the
personal experiences of the engineers,
so that unsuitable concepts might be
followed and optimised for a long time
without having a good result at the end.
To solve these problems, a new method
for concept design was developed in the
work presented here. In this method, all
25
C o v e r S t o r y SUSPENSION SYSTEMS
Lateral stiffness Toe stiffness
Hard points
Three-dimensional
form of components
Kinematic toe
1 Complex interactions between the concept variables and requirements
Ul
(a)
RAS FS
Ul
(b)
RAS FS
(c)
2 Idealisation of the example axle as a beam model and the calculation of its bearing and node loads with the
statically determined constraints
the complex interactions in were
mathematically, purely analytically and
completely determined and imple-
mented into a software tool. Once the
concept variables are entered, the axle
stiffness and kinematics can be calcu-
lated with a good accuracy in a few sec-
onds. The CAD data and CAE calcula-
tion are not required at all.
26
Camber stiffness Other axle stiffnesses cross member with a high bending stiff-
ness but lower torsion stiffness. In the
example axle showed here, the cross
member has a hat profile cross section
Sectional properties Other factors with reinforcements at each of the two
transition areas to the side arms, which
have a nearly circular cross section.
Each component can be idealised as
Kinematic camber
Other kinematic five straight and homogeneous beams.
characteristics
This subdivision is sufficient enough to
represent the three-dimensional form of
the components. In order to describe the
strong variation of the cross sections of
Ur the axle components in reality, each beam
can be defined with a separate property.
For example, the cross member in the axle
is idealised to have a rectangular profile at
the ends, a hat profile in the central
region and a partially closed profile in the
transitional areas. To improve the accu-
racy of the model, extra beams can be
introduced; however, it causes a signifi-
RAS
cantly higher computation time.
Besides a cross member and two side
Ur arms, a twist beam axle usually has also
components to connect with spring
damper elements. Traditional spring
damper seats, such as the one shown in
, are connected to the stiff side arms.
They can be nearly neglected in the ana-
lytical method because of their small
influence on the axle stiffness.
However, some modern spring-damper
RAS
seats connect the cross member with the
side arms at the same time, so that the
relatively weak cross member is signifi-
cantly reinforced. This leads to an
increase of the total axle stiffness.
Because of the complex geometry of the
seats, their implementation into the ana-
lytical method is difficult and can be con-
sidered as a further development perspec-
tive of the current method.
In the second step, all loads on the
nodes and bearings are calculated analyti-
cally. For this purpose, the axle is
mounted as a statically determined sys-
tem, which requires exactly six con-
straints for its freedom of movement,
NEW APPROACH OF ANALYSIS (b), (c). The two guide bearings, Ul
and Ur, are idealised as ball joints here,
The basic approach of the stiffness analy- where Ur can also move translational in
sis based on this new method can be the cars y-direction. While the lateral
divided into four steps. In the first step, force acts on the left wheel contact point
the axle is idealised as a beam model, 2 with a short offset RASFS, the right wheel
(a). A twist beam axle usually consists of contact point RAS must have no move-
two side arms with high bending and tor- ment in the car z-direction. With these
sion stiffness, which are connected by a statically determined constraints, all
www.autotechreview.com
forces and moments acting on the bear-
ings and nodes can be calculated
analytically.
In reality, the two guide bearings are
not ideal ball joints but rubber bushings,
(a)
whose characteristics can also affect the
axle stiffness additionally. However,
because the effects of the rubber bushing
on the axle characteristic are often consid-
ered separately in the industrial practice,
the assumption here of idealised ball
joints can be considered as sufficient.
In the third step, the three-dimen-
sional and manifold deformations of
each beam are calculated analytically.
They consist of tension, compression and
bending deformations, as well as pure
torsion and warping torsion. The corre- (b)
sponding equations or systems of equa-
tions are developed in matrix form and
solved analytically.
To complete the stiffness analysis, the
individual beam deformations are assem-
bled in the fourth and last step and then
the total axle stiffness is determined. As
can be seen in 3 (a), the deformation
begins at the left side arm, while the
cross member moves only slightly with-
out deformation. Then the elastic defor-
mation of the cross member is added. (c)
This elastic deformation causes kine-
matic movements of the bearings. For
example, the side arms rotate inward,
but do not deform further, (b). It can
be concluded that these kinematic move-
ments have large influences on the axle
stiffness and must be considered in the 3 Deformation of the example axle with lateral force
analytical calculation.
The theory applied in the axle kine-
matic analysis was developed by Beck/
Hertel/Schneewei [1] and Matschinsky Parallel wheel travel
[2]. It is based on the following assump- Ul Ur
Opp vel
osit
ew el tra
tions: during parallel wheel travels, the hee e whe
l tra
vel osit
wheels rotate around the line joining the Opp
two guide bearings; while in opposite
wheel travels, the rotational axis of the
SC
wheel travels goes through the guide
bearing and the shear centre (SC) of the
cross member profile, 4. Generally, the
analytical determinations of the shear
centre for the typical cross member pro- 4 Geometric relationship of axle kinematics of twist beam axles
files, such as C, U or hat profiles, are
possible. However, cross members with
more complex profiles are being used in It has to be mentioned here, that RESULTS OF THE
current vehicles. Therefore, further mod- the theoretical rotational axis for oppo- ANALYTICAL CALCULATIONS
ules for the shear centre calculation of site wheel travel is only an approxima-
such kind of more complex profiles is tion, which has a deviation from the Based on the analytical method, a soft-
now under development. real wheel movement. ware tool was developed, which requires

autotechreview Feb r u ar y 2 015 Vo lum e 4 | I s su e 2 27

 C o v e r S t o r y SUSPENSION SYSTEMS

Lateral stiffness Toe stiffness Camber stiffness ment. 5 shows that the results of the two
methods for the same example axle are
[N/mm] [N/min] [N/min] well comparable.
The results of the kinematics analysis
Simulation 1562.50 302.25 224.49
show that the analytically calculated
Analytical method 1584.10 291.14 208.04 curves for the case of parallel wheel travel
are exactly the same in comparison to the
Deviation [%] 1.38 -3.68 -7.33
curves of simulated ones, 6 (top). For
5 Stiffnesses of the example axle opposite wheel travel, a slight deviation
can be observed because of the above
Axle kinematics during parallel wheel travel mentioned inaccuracy of the
Axle theory, during
kinematics opposite wheel trav
80 80
(bottom). However, the result is still satis-
factory for the concept phase.
Toe angle of analytical calculation
60 60
Toe angle of MBS simulation
Camber angle of analytical calculation
40 40
CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK
Wheel centre travel [mm]

Wheel centre travel [mm]

Camber angle of MBS simulation

20 20
With the presented analytical method, it
Design attitude
is possible to analytically evaluate a con-
Design attitude
0 0
cept of twist beam axles in terms of its
lateral stiffness and kinematics within a
-20 -20 seconds. In future developments, the
few
Toe angle of analytical method will be extended to enable the
-40 calculation -40
Toe angle of MBS simulation calculation of roll and longitudinal stiff-
Camber angle of analytical ness as well. The almost instantaneous
-60 calculation -60
computation times also enable the analyt-
Camber angle of MBS ical method as an ideal tool for optimising
simulation
-80 -80 concepts, since it can be combined
axle
-200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 -200 -150 -100 -50 0
Toe and camber angle [min] easily and quickly with suitable mathe- Toe and camber angle [min
matical optimisation algorithms.
Axle kinematics during opposite wheel travel Through further development, it
80
should be possible that after the user
Toe angle of analytical calculation enters the desired requirements and con-
60
Toe angle of MBS simulation straints, such as package, into the soft-
Camber angle of analytical calculation ware, the suitable concepts can then be
40
determined quickly and automatically by
Wheel centre travel [mm]

Camber angle of MBS simulation

combining the current analytical method
20
with an appropriate optimisation algo-
Design attitude rithm. Thereafter, the concepts can be
0
transferred into CAD models and finalised
by detail optimisations using FEA and
-20
MBS. Using this analytical method, a
al
much faster and more cost-effective con-
-40
mulation cept development can be realised for a
ytical twist beam axle.
-60
S
REFERENCES
-80 [1] Beck, J.; hertel, K.; Schneewei, M.: Die Kop-
150 -200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150
pellenkerachse fr frontgetriebene Personenwagen
Toe and camber angle [min]
eine neue Entwicklung von Audi-NSU. In: ATZ
6 Axle kinematics of the example axle 76 (1974), No. 10, pp. 316321
[2] Matschinsky, W.: Bestimmung mechanischer
Kenngren von radaufhngungen. hannover,
Universitt, Dissertation, 1992
only the positions of all hard points and MBS programmes. The results were then
the basic profile cross sections as input to compared with those of the analytical
calculate the axle stiffness and kinemat- method. It was found that the deviations
ics. In order to validate the method accu- of stiffness of these axles were always less
racy, more than ten different axles were than 15 %. This result can be considered read this article on
designed and calculated with FEA and as satisfactory for the concept develop- www.autotechreview.com

28 www.autotechreview.com
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C o v e r S t o r y SUSPENSION SYSTEMS

MODULAR SYSTEM FOR

ELECTRICAL DRIVE AXLES
Customers growing environmental awareness, shortage of fossil combustibles and new legislation, reducing fuel
consumption and emissions, lead more and more to a stronger electrification of the powertrain. Facing up to this
trend, Schaefflers E-Mobility division, together with development partners, has developed entire electric drive
systems in high-voltage and 48 V technology. One of the results is the Schaeffler E-Axle, a modular system for
electrical drive axles.

30 www.autotechreview.com
 AUThOrS
TOMAS SMETANA
is head of the Product Division
Electrical Axle Drives at Schaeffler
Technologies AG & Co. KG in
herzogenaurach (Germany).
MICHAEL BERGER
is Project Manager inside the Product
Division Electrical Axle Drives at
Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
in herzogenaurach (Germany).
MATTHIAS GRAMANN
is head of Electrical Drives inside the
Division Central Functions and
Mechatronics at LuK Gmbh & Co. KG
in Bhl (Germany).
MICHAEL MITARIU-FALLER
is Project Manager inside the Product
Unit XSG Double Clutch, Actuation
and Automatisation at LuK Gmbh &
Co. KG in Bhl (Germany).
autotechreview Feb r u ar y 2 015
OVERALL SYSTEM WITH
TWO MOTORS
During the development of the so-called
Schaeffler E-Axle as an electrical drive
axle, the focus was laid on a modular but
still compact design, together with a high
performance and a wide application
range. Therefore, the current drive system,
1, designed for a middle-class plug-in
hybrid vehicle, is equipped with a 65 kW
traction electric motor (at 264 V DC),
which transmits its power via a two-speed
transmission. This transmission enables a
pure electric drive and the support of the
combustion engine and the recuperation
as well over the complete speed range of
the vehicle.
At the integrated electro mechanical
torque vectoring (TV) functionality,
(left), the force of a second electric motor
(maximum 6.7 kW) is used to distribute
the controlled torque of the traction motor
between the wheels of the vehicle. Com-
pared to hydraulic solutions existing on
the market, this concept is characterised
by high efficiency, short response times
and high dynamics. An integration of the
TV system into vehicle driving stability
systems like ESC can be used to improve
the traction, increase the driving comfort
and improve the driving dynamics.
In the meantime, the E-Axle exists in
its third generation [1], for which the
development was done currently and
mainly towards a mass production feasi-
ble design. Therefore, the control and
power electronics of the TV system and
the gear shifting actuator were developed
completely new and integrated into the
E-Axle. Nevertheless, the E-Axle is still
compact enough to be installed on the
vehicles rear axle without affecting the
space for trunk or fuel tank significantly.
In its maximum configuration level, the
flange distance is 525 mm, the E-Axles
weight about 80 kg.
Also hardware and software of both
control units were developed with focus
on mass production feasibility and a mod-
ular concept in that way, that the commu-
nication between them and the vehicles
control units can be established via CAN
bus or FlexRay, according to the custom-
ers requirements. The TV system is com-
pliant to Asil-D specified safety require-
ments and the gear shifting system to
Asil-C according to ISO 26262 [2].
Vo lum e 4 | I s su e 2
A key factor during the E-Axles devel-
opment was the use of simulation tools
already in an early stage. In this context,
the combination and interaction of differ-
ent simulation disciplines was also impor-
tant. For example, a CFD analysis of the
cooling system went along with the ther-
mal analysis of the motors and the com-
plete assembly. The results of those were
used as input data for strength analysis of
the housing as well as for designing the
sealings and press fits.
Another important aspect was the
design of the system by means of simula-
tions regarding efficiency, fuel savings
considering different driving cycles and
the behaviour of the system, its sub-sys-
tems and components in different driving
situations. Therefore, different models are
used, which are set-up in a multi domain
software and validated by testing. Cur-
rently, the samples of the third generation
are produced and validated on the test rig
as well as in vehicles. In the following,
the sub-modules transmission, gear shift-
ing as well as motors and power electron-
ics are discussed in more detail.
TRANSMISSION
The transmission is a further development
of Schaefflers activEdrive [1]. It is
designed as two-speed, coaxial transmis-
sion, which contains two planetary gear
sets as well as a spur gear differential. In
the first gear, both gear sets are powered,
and in the second gear one gear set is
forceless. Gear shifting is performed by
means of a synchronised jaw clutch cou-
pling with neutral position.
A key characteristic of the transmis-
sion is the new developed torque vector-
ing transmission with an electric motor
positioned in parallel to the main axle.
Inside this a superposition transmission
is used, which consists of two planetary
gear sets with common planet bolts. The
internal gear wheels are coupled with the
output shafts. One of the sun gear
wheels is fixed in the axles housing,
while the other is driven by the TV
motor via a spur gear set.
shows on the right the torque dis-
tribution paths with activated TV system.
The torque of the TV motor is transmit-
ted into the superposition gear set via
the spur gear set and the first sun gear
31
1 Components of the Schaeffler E-Axle modular system (left) with torque vectoring (TV) functionality as well as its torque paths (right)

wheel. On the other side, it is supported forces up to 1,500 N continuously. New accuracy, so that no additional sensors
by the second, fixed sun gear wheel. production processes and optimised lubri- are needed.
This results in a tensioning of the super- cation oil guarantee this robust design to
position gear set, which creates on both reach its claimed lifetime reliably.
of the internal gear wheels, torques of Thus, this mechanism allows the E-MOTORS AND
the same value but in different direc- use of a small EC motor in order to POWER ELECTRONICS
tions. Further this leads to a shifting of reduce the power need. Therefore, no
the driving torque from one output shaft additional axial space inside the axle is The traction motor on the one hand is
to the other and therefore to different tor- needed for the actuator mechanism; the capable of providing a maximum drive
ques on the wheels. motor is only lead through the housing power of 73 kW (at 323 V DC) for 10 s at
The ratios of the transmission have in radial direction. a maximum torque of 178 Nm. It achieves
also been chosen considering simulations Amongst others, the systems high a continuous power of 65 kW and a con-
regarding efficiency and consumption, so dynamics is assured by the mounted tinuous torque of 105 Nm with a cooling
that with the performance data of the actuator control unit (ACU), together system designed accordingly. 3 shows on
traction motors, the axle creates a starting with the high control quality of the gear the top side its speed-torque diagram.
torque of 2,000 Nm in the first gear and shifting system. The high position resolu- With the cooling system designed for the
can run up to the maximum vehicle speed tion of the EC motor enables a very good E-Axle, the motor provides a maximum
(> 250 km/h) in the second gear. In this
application, the optimal ratios are 12.3 in
the first gear and 4.2 in the second gear.
The TV transmission has a ratio of
37.7, which makes it capable to create a
maximum differential wheel torque of
1,600 Nm. The transmission is lubricated
without an oil pump. The axle is filled
with approximately one litre oil. The
transmission housing contains elements
to supply oil to the required locations
during operation.

SHIFTING

The gear shifting actuator, 2, uses an

electromechanical principle with highest
power density. The key part is a ball
screw drive with a pitch of 2.25 mm and
integrated return elements, which trans-
forms rotation into translation. With a
diameter of only 14 mm, it transmits 2 Gear shifting actuator and control unit with ball screw drive as key part
power of 65 kW (at 264 V DC) for 10 s
and a continuous power of 45 kW.
Due to the high power density
required, the design was selected as a
three-phase permanent-magnet synchro-
nous machine (PMSM). The stator wind-
ing is designed as a winding with con-
centrated coils. In order to limit the rotat-
ing field frequency below a maximum
speed of 1 kHz, the number of pole pairs
has been restricted to four. The coils of
the three phases of the motor are con-
nected in series; thereby the compensat-
ing currencies are limited by symmetric
modification of the magnetic circuit. The
magnets in the rotor are positioned as so-
called buried magnets. Thus, a far-reach-
ing field weakening in the operation of
the motor can be implemented. At the
same time, the arrangements of the mag-
nets in the rotor lead to a reluctance,
which provides a significant torque
already in the base-load range.
On the other hand, the TV motor has a
continuous power rating of 4.3 kW at 18
Nm permanent torque. It can be tempo-
rarily overloaded up to 6.7 kW and then
delivers up to 42 Nm peak torque. Again,
a three-phase PMSM with concentrated
coils was selected due to the space
requirements. Because of much lower
speed, a very short built 20 pin version
could be selected here. Both motors dis-
pose of a part-load efficiency of more than
90 %, the traction motor reaches a peak
efficiency of 96 %, bottom side of . 3 Speed-torque diagram (top) and efficiency map (bottom) of the traction motor
During the assembly to the power elec-
tronics, it is slipped onto the TV motor,
whereby phase and sensor wires are con- is based on a 3.2 Autosar architecture. The electrical drive system was
nected as well as the common cooling cir- The wheel differential for the TV motor is designed as a unity system consisting
cuit. The plug-in modules in the motor defined as a functional interface for inte- of power electronics, motor, sensors and
are fixed and are positioned floating on gration into the vehicle. The motor is cooling system. By usage of prediction
one side of the electronics. Furthermore, implemented as a model-based and field- models for the motors and power
this plug connection fixes the position of oriented setting. Both, the performance of electronics temperature a maximum
the electronics on the axle. the motor depending on the relevant oper- peak power output and a high
The power electronics of the TV motor, ating parameters and the temperature continuous power output up to the
4, transforming the direct current per two characteristics of the motor are shown as de-rating can be reached.
parallel-switched Easy Pack IGBT modules a model in the power electronics. To meet
made by Infineon into alternating current the safety requirements of the E-Axle
of variable frequency and voltage, carries drives, a versatile redundant monitoring MODULAR SYSTEM
up to a 70 A peak phase current even in of each driving torque is provided. For
case of a motor standstill. Its DC voltage this, an independent estimation model is By means of a modular system, the
range is from 150 to 450 V, the switching calculated on the basis of the measured Schaeffler E-Axle can be adjusted to the
frequency at 10 kHz. The control module and predetermined signals. Thus, an inde- customers requirements. 5 shows three
is designed as a reusable module for HV pendent estimation model is calculated on examples of axle configurations made of
and even 48 V applications, according to one of the two identical Infineon TriCore the combinable and modifiable modules.
the modular principle. kernels of the control unit on the basis of Along with the adaption of the individual
The software of the power electronics measured and predetermined signals. mechanical, hydraulic and electrical

autotechreview Feb r u ar y 2 015 Vo lum e 4 | I s su e 2 33

C o v e r S t o r y SUSPENSION SYSTEMS
4 Components and assembly of the torque vectoring (TV) power electronics
interfaces, the electric motor power as
well as the configuration of the gear
shifting can be varied, according to the
application. The implementation of the
TV unit is optional. Alternatively, it is
possible to integrate a parking lock or a
power shift transmission.
With these variants, all applications
from mild-hybrid via plug-in hybrid up to
a pure electric vehicle can be covered
as rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive or
5 E-axle modular system three possible configurations made of the combinable and modifiable modules
(The implementation of the TV unit is optional)
34
the customers requirements and for dif-
ferent applications. Also, its electrome-
chanical torque vectoring system is inno-
vative and efficient, which can be inte-
grated optionally.
The next steps towards mass produc-
tion mainly involve its validation on test
rigs and in vehicles, as well as the indus-
trialisation. Schaeffler is also working on
the systems scaling to a variant using 48
V technology.
REFERENCES
[1] Smetana, T.; Biermann, T.; rohe, M.; hein-
rich, W.: E-Drive With Electrically Controlled Differ-
ential. In: ATZelektronik Worldwide 6 (2011), No.
5, pp. 4-8
[2] ISO 26262, Part 9: Asil and Safety regarding
Analyses, 2011
as all-wheel drive, from small cars to
light commercial vehicles or sports cars.
CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK
With the E-Axle, Schaeffler has shown an
innovative and series-production feasible
electrical drive system with high power
density, which by means of using a mod-
ular system, can flexibly be adjusted to
ThAnkS
The authors thank all involved colleagues at
Schaeffler and the development partners for
their effort at the development of the Schaef-
fler E-Axle. Furthermore, they thank their col-
leagues Florian Drrfu, Eduard Enderle, Dr.
Martin Fritz, Andreas Kufner, Dr. Thomas
Schencke and Philip Wurzberger for their valu-
able contribution to this article.
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C o v e r S t o r y SUSPENSION SYSTEMS

OPTIMISATION OF ROLL VIBRATION

DAMPING OF A VEHICLE
Due to accessible numerical programmes, even in small companies, analytical calculation methods are rarely
used to develop dynamic systems today. This article presents the study of roll vibration damping of a vehicle
within a cooperation between the Ruhr University Bochum and CP autosport. In this thesis, awarded with the
Hermann-Appel prize 2013 from IAV, the vibration analysis with the help of analytical method has been applied
to expose the deficiency of roll vibration damping of a conventional independent suspension. In addition to the
briefly presented mathematical solutions, CP autosport designed a car, in which the deficiency of roll vibration
damping was removed by a smart control mechanism. The practical experience with that car confirmed the
mathematical results.

36 www.autotechreview.com
 AUTHORS
ALEXANDER PIEPER, M. SC.,
is Development Engineer at CP
autosport GmbH in Bren and
PhD Student at the Institute of
Mechanics and Materials at the
Ruhr University Bochum (Germany).
PROF. DR. KHANH CHAU LE
is Professor at the Institute of
Mechanics and Materials at the
Ruhr University Bochum (Germany).
DIPL.-ING. JRGEN KLBERER
is Head R&D of the CP autosport
GmbH in Bren (Germany).
1 Calculation model with parameters used
autotechreview Feb r u ar y 2 015
INTRODUCTION CALCULATION MODEL
Nowadays, the use of analytical methods To reveal the deficiency of roll vibration
in developing and designing dynamical damping of a conventional independent
systems has unfortunately become rare. suspension it is sufficient to analyse a
Numerical software programmes that are strongly simplified two-dimensional linear
easily accessible even to small companies, axle model of a multi-body system con-
as well as the hardly ever-exhausted com- taining an anti-roll bar, 1. The external
puting capacity of workstations and clus- excitations are assumed to be in the verti-
ters, entrap engineers quite often to cal direction (marked blue). The proposed
employ simulation programmes of multi- model consists of three bodies two
body dynamics at the beginning of their uprights and the chassis [2-4]. In this
concept determination phase. model, the proportional mass of the
In this article, the effectiveness of the whole suspension on the left and right
alternative approach will be demon- side, often called unsprung mass, is
strated. It will be shown that even assumed to be concentrated in a point of
extremely complicated dynamical behav- each upright (lumped mass). The dis-
iour could be insightfully studied before- placements as the degrees of freedom of
hand within goal-oriented simplified mod- all masses, like the external excitations,
els. To begin the concept development of are constrained to be in the vertical direc-
a dynamic system with an analytically tion only.
solvable model leads automatically to an Exclusively, the chassis has one more
essential gain of understandings of the degree of freedom corresponding to the
present problems. Moreover, such an rotation angle. Thus, there are altogether
approach enables the engineers to find four degrees of freedom in the chosen
novel and highly efficient solutions at the axle model (denoted by red). In a conven-
root of complex problems. Besides, the tional suspension, the motions of the two
use of simulation programmes in the later uprights and the chassis are coupled
phase of development can also be realised through two main springs as well as
in a much more goal-oriented and effec- through two dampers. A so-called anti-roll
tive way. bar is often employed as a third spring
In this paper, the axle model with element in this kind of suspensions. The
made assumptions will be introduced. role of this anti-roll bar, that may have
The analytically derived solution thus various embodiments in the practical real-
makes it possible to analyse the problem isation, is to couple the uprights when
of detailed roll damping, as well as visu- they are moving in counter phases caus-
alise its behaviour by the help of various ing the increase of the spring stiffness of
diagrams [1]. Finally, the mechanical con- the whole system against the roll angle.
cept of optimising the roll vibration Due to the three-dimensional motion
damping developed by CP autosport will of the uprights and the non-parallel ori-
be presented. entations of the springs and dampers to
the vertical axis, an installation ratio
PARAMETERS USED between the vertical displacement of the
PARAMETER VALUE UNIT centre of the uprights and the resulting
elongation of the spring exist. This rela-
mf 500 kg
tion applies to upright and damper pis-
Jf 250 kg m 2
ton velocities as well. Because of that
mr 40 kg
reason the installation ratios are taken
kf 100,000 N/m into account in this model [5]. In reality,
ks 50,000 N/m these installation ratios do vary slightly
kr 350,000 N/m during the relative displacement of the
cf 500 kg/s uprights to the chassis due to the three-
cr 50 kg/s dimensional kinematics.
ik 0.9 However, within the linearised theory
of small vibrations the installation ratios
is 0.8
(ik,ic,is) can simply be assumed as con-
ic 0.9
stants. In order to enable the excitation of
l 1.85 m
the system through the uneven road
Vo lum e 4 | I s su e 2 37
C o v e r S t o r y SUSPENSION SYSTEMS
UPRIGHT CHASSIS
EIGENFREqUENCY
LEFT RIGHT HEAVE
f1
f2
f3
f4
2 Direction of motion of all bodies in the different
vibration modes
inputs, each upright is connected to a
notional wheel contact point having a
given displacement as functions of time.
The spring and damper connecting the
contact point and the upright model
offers a viscoelastic behaviour of the
wheel in the first approximation. The
forced vibrations hold true provided that
the contact between the wheels and the
road exists during the whole vibration
process. As mentioned before, the simpli-
fied system is regarded as linear in spite
of the particularly strongly non-linear
elements of the system.
MATHEMATICAL DISCLOSURE OF
THE DEFICIENCY OF ROLL
VIBRATION DAMPING
It is well known from the dynamics [6, 7]
that the small forced vibrations of a
mechanical system like the one consid-
ered above admit analytical solutions [1].
For any mechanical system with n degrees
of freedom, the equations of forced vibra-
tions take the form:
Eq. 1 Mq + Cq+ Kq = f(t)
Here q is a vector of generalised coordi-
nates. The entries in the chosen axle
model correspond to the heave and roll
degree of freedom of the chassis and the
translational degrees of freedom of the
uprights. The constant matrices M, C and
K stand for the mass, damping, and stiff-
ness matrices of the axle model, respec-
tively. The equations of motions are
derived by the energy method [6]. The
kinetic and potential energies of the sys-
38
tem can directly be read off from and
are presented in Eq. 2 and 3:
ROLL
1
__ 2 1
__
K(q )= 2 mf z f + 2 Jf f + 2
Eq. 2
1
__
2 mr (z [ l
f+z l+__2 f )2+(z f+z r __2 f )2
1 1
U(q)=__2 kf i2k (z2l +z2r )+__2 ks i2s (zlzr)2+
Eq. 3
1
__
2 k r [ ( zez z __
l f l 2
l
The corresponding dissipation function
stands as:
Eq. 4
1
D(q )=__2 cf i2c (z 2l +z 2r )+__2 cr (z el z f z l __2
__l
]
(z er z f z r+ 2 f )
Note that the translational degrees of free-
dom of the uprights do not describe the
absolute displacements in space, but their
relative displacements with respect to the
chassis. However, the degrees of freedom
of the chassis correspond to the absolute
displacement and rotation angle in the
fixed frame of reference in space. From
the generalised Lagranges equation of
second kind the system of equations of
motion (Eq. 1) for the axle model follow:
d L L D
Eq. 5 __ ___ ___ + ___=0 with j=1...n
dt q j qj qj
In order to recognise the vibration modes
of a vehicle, the corresponding conserva-
tive system (with damping constants set
to be equal to zero) is going to be studied
first. The advantage of this case study is
that the amplitudes of free and undamped
vibrations with the eigenfrequencies 2.57,
4.16, 16.57 and 17.92 Hz turn out to have
fixed relative ratios amongst them. This
enables to find and compare the contribu-
tion of each degree of freedom to the
absolute displacement of the upright.
Besides, a certain degree of freedom that
has the largest contribution to the abso-
lute amplitude of the upright can be
assigned to each eigenfrequency.
The magnitudes and signs of the
amplitudes of all bodies obtained by the
exemplarily chosen parameters of the sys-
tem can be visualised with the help of dif-
ferent arrows in 2. The amplitudes with
the largest contribution are marked red.
The shown directions hold certainly only
for half a period of vibration and change
their signs afterwards in accordance with
the law of harmonic vibra-
tions. The weight analysis
of the degrees of freedom
l
]
of the system shows
clearly that the first and
the third eigenfrequency
can be identified with the
f )2
+( z ez z +__
r f r
l
2 ] f )2
heave vibration modes.
The roll vibrations are
absent in these modes of vibrations. The
chassis and the uprights move in phase at
the first eigenfrequency, while they move
in counter phase at
the third eigenfre-
[ 1 l
f)2+ quency. The sec-
ond and fourth
2
eigenfrequency
describe the roll
vibrations of the chassis and at the same
time counter phase vibrations of the
uprights. The heave vibrations are absent
in these vibration modes. It is interesting
that the phenomenon of vibrations in
phase and in counter phase between the
chassis and the uprights can also be
observed in this case.
The already identified amplitude ratios
of vibration modes can be made more
accessible with the help of the targeted
external excitation in form of two har-
monic functions. For this aim the system
is excited by two cosine functions. In the
first case, the identical excitation function
is used for the left and right wheel. In the
second case, two excitation functions with
the same amplitude and frequency but
with the phase difference are applied
(excitations in counter phase). By plotting
each contribution to the absolute dis-
placement of the left upright in relation to
the amplitude of the excitation as function
of the exciting frequency, one gets the
magnification (or resonance) functions for
the components shown in 3.
In addition, the magnification function
of the absolute amplitude of the left
upright, which is the sum of all compo-
nents, is also plotted in black. It is inter-
esting to observe that in case of the exci-
tations in phase, only the first and the
third mode of vibrations are excited,
which agrees with the previous weight
analysis of the components. In contrary,
the excitations in counter phase lead to
the resonances of the second and the
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3 Two-dimensional plots of the magnification functions of all components of the left upright
4 Three-dimensional magnification function of the absolute left upright amplitude of a conventional suspension
5 Overall view of the front suspension
7 Overall view of the rear suspension
fourth mode. Furthermore, for some com-
ponents there exists a certain frequency of
excitation where the anti-resonance
autotechreview Feb r u ar y 2 015
6 Detailed view of the front suspension
8 Detailed view of the rear suspension
occurs. When the excitation functions are
cosine functions with the same amplitude
and frequency, then the absolute motions
Vo lum e 4 | I s su e 2
of the uprights are periodic motions.
This property does not depend on the
phase difference between the excitation
functions. When the absolute amplitudes
of the uprights are plotted as functions of
the frequency of excitation and of the
phase difference of the excitation func-
tions, one gets three-dimensional sur-
faces. The diagrams shown in 4 for the
undamped and damped systems have the
advantage that the magnification function
of the left upright in the range of the
heave vibration modes (1, 3) and the roll
vibration modes (2, 4) can be compared
in the same diagram. Especially in the
zoomed neighbourhood of the first and
second eigenfrequencies, it can be seen
that the amplitudes of the uprights in a
wide range around the second eigenfre-
quency (corresponding to the roll vibra-
tions of the chassis) remain significantly
large in spite of the damping. Due to
these large amplitudes of the uprights, the
force variation between the road and the
wheels contact patch will remarkably
increase and stability and controllability
of the vehicle will notably decrease.
NEW METHOD OF ACTIVATING
SPRINGS AND DAMPERS
The obtained results clearly show that
the anti-roll bar creates a much higher
spring stiffness of the system against the
roll angle. Thus, for conventional inde-
pendent suspensions there are two
strongly different stiffnesses against the
heave and the roll vibrations. The disad-
vantage of such a conventional suspen-
sion is that the damping forces are not
well adapted to these different spring
stiffnesses at different modes of vibra-
tions. Thus, the optimised damping
against the heave vibrations cannot
damp the roll vibrations adequately.
On the other side, the optimised
damping against the roll vibrations ulti-
mately leads to the over-damping of the
heave vibrations. In both cases, this
inevitable compromise of setting up
dampers in a conventional suspension
causes the loss of the cars grip. In
order to get rid of this compromise, a
completely new method of activating
the springs and dampers has been
developed by CP autosport GmbH. In 5
and 6 the concept of the front suspen-
39
C o v e r S t o r y SUSPENSION SYSTEMS
9 Three-dimensional magnification function of the absolute left upright amplitude of the Mosler EXP/1
sion and in 7 and 8 the concept of the
rear suspension is shown, respectively.
In both cases, the motion of each
upright is transmitted by push rods to a
common centre rocker. The centre rocker,
which is realised in different embodi-
ments at the front suspension and at the
rear suspension, possesses untypically
two independent rotational degrees of
freedom. In addition to the push rods,
the spring and damping elements are
also connected to these centre rocker.
The unnecessary anti-roll bar disappears
completely. The position of the spring
and damping elements connected with
the corresponding centre rocker are cho-
sen in such a way that during roll vibra-
tions a much larger installation ratio
between the upright displacement and
spring/ damper displacement exists, than
during heave vibrations.
It has to be noticed that not only the
elongation of the spring change, but the
velocity of the damper piston will be
influenced by the strongly varying instal-
lation ratio as well. The stiffness together
with the damping rate will be increased
proportionally. The other advantage is
that at roll vibrations one of the damper
works in compression, while the other
one in tension. Thus, at heave vibrations
it is possible to have two different damp-
ing curves one at compression and one
at tension, while at roll vibrations the
40
same damping curve for the rotation to
the left or to the right is realised.
If one derives the analytical solution to
the equations of motion of such a system,
the diagrams similar to those in can be
plotted. For the Mosler EXP/1 concept
one can clearly see in 9 that, in spite of
the comparable choice of the damping for
heave vibration modes, the adequate
damping for the roll vibration modes is
achieved. The practical consequence in
the Mosler EXP/1 designed by the CP
autosport is notable for its breathtaking
vehicle dynamics. On the small circuit in
Hockenheim (approximately 2.6 km long
distance) the Mosler EXP/1 concept is
faster by 3.5 s per round as compared to a
super sports car of the same class (Gump-
ert Apollo). Due to the effective damping
of all vibration modes the whole vehicle
offers an untypical driving comfort, while
at the same time an optimal mechanical
grip is enabled.
SUMMARY
Basically, one can say that the most effec-
tive damping of a vehicle is the one that
controls the system at all vibration modes
with the least forces. The vibration analy-
sis of the damping complex shows clearly
that the optimal damping by the conven-
tional suspension cannot be achieved. In
this case, one needs to find a compromise
between a too hard and a too soft damp-
ing of different modes of vibrations. By
creating the Mosler EXP/1 concept, CP
autosport has shown in an impressive
way that the effectiveness of damping is
dependent on the chosen design concept.
In this novel suspension, two different
installation ratios at roll and heave vibra-
tions lead to two different damping influ-
ences. This enables to adjust two from
four vibration modes independently.
From the theoretical point of view, it
would be desirable to adjust the damping
influences to all modes of vibrations.
Practically this ideal concept of setting
the damping influences can approxi-
mately be realised by dampers with low
and high speed regimes. In this case, the
slow roll vibrations of the second mode
and the fast roll vibrations of the fourth
mode can be separately damped by these
two-speed regimes of dampers. The same
can be said about the damping of the
first and third heave vibration modes.
The solution thus found is close to the
optimal damping of an independent sus-
pension, and demonstrates that even
now, innovative approaches based on
principal deliberations and analytical
solutions can still be found.
REFERENCES
[1] Le, K. C.; Pieper, A.: Damping of Roll Vibra-
tions of Vehicle Suspension. In: Vehicle System
Dynamics: International Journal of Vehicle Me-
chanics and Mobility, 2014
[2] Milliken, W. F.; Milliken, D. L.: Chassis De-
sign. Warrendale: SAE International, 2002
[3] Milliken, W. F.; Milliken, D. L.: Race Car Vehi-
cle Dynamics. Warrendale: SAE International,
1995
[4] Jazar, N. R.: Vehicle Dynamics. New York:
Springer Science+Business Media, 2008
[5] Matschinsky, W.: Radfhrungen der Straen-
fahrzeuge. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag,
2007
[6] Le, K. C.: Energy Methods in Dynamics. Ber-
lin, Heidelberg: Springer, 2011
[7] Magnus, K.; Popp, K.; Sextro, W.: Schwingun-
gen. Wiesbaden: Vieweg+Teubner, 2008
[8] Den Hartog, J. P.: Mechanical Vibrations. New
York: Dover Publications, 1984
[9] Timoshenko, S.: Vibration Problems in Engi-
neering. Oxford: Oxford City Press, 2011
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t e C h n o l o g y ENGINEs

CO2 REDUCTION THROUGH SMALL

DISPLACEMENT IN COMBINATION
WITH BIOFUELS
Authors

DIPL.-ING. BASTIAN LEHRHEUER

is research Associate at the
Institute for Internal Combustion
Engines (VKA) at the rWth Aachen
university (Germany).

DIPL.-ING. PATRICK HOPPE

is research Associate at the
Institute for Internal Combustion
Engines (VKA) at the rWth Aachen
university (Germany).

DIPL.-ING. MARCO GNTHER

is Chief Engineer at the Institute
for Internal Combustion Engines
(VKA) at the rWth Aachen
university (Germany)..
PROF. DR.-ING.
STEFAN PISCHINGER
is Director of the Institute for Internal
Combustion Engines (VKA) at the
rWth Aachen university (Germany).
to reduce Co2 emissions, a reduction in swept volume, while at the same
time fulfilling the same performance requirements also referred to as
downsizing has long been considered to be an established solution in
the automotive industry. the limitations of the reduction in displacement
and its potential, in particular using biogenic, ethanol-containing fuels,
were emphasised as part of a FVV research project. For this purpose, a
direct injection 0.8-l three-cylinder gasoline engine with a specific power
output of 120 kW/l was developed, set-up, and its combustion system
was subjected to thermodynamic investigations at the Institute for Internal
Combustion Engines of the rWth Aachen university.

42 www.autotechreview.com
MOTIVATION
In order to reach the same torque, it is
necessary to increase the mean effective
pressure when the displacement is
reduced. This initially leads to less gas-
exchange losses. Additionally, the relative
wall heat losses and friction losses also
decrease due to the higher load [1]. Conse-
quently, the operating point of the down-
sized engine lies in an engine perfor-
mance range with a higher efficiency,
which leads to lower specific fuel con-
sumption. Achieving comparable maxi-
mum performance and torque characteris-
tics requires a high specific power output
and therefore an increase in the maxi-
mum mean effective pressure by using
suitable charging units.
However, higher temperatures and
pressures at the end of the compression
stroke in the end gas require higher knock
limits and thus lead to losses in efficiency
[2] due to retarded spark timing at high
loads or an adjusted lower compression.
Fuels with a higher knock-resistance
counteract this disadvantage so that using
concept is preferable because of the flow
and cooling benefits features an inte-
grated, cooled exhaust manifold as well as
a tumble port that is increased by mask-
ing the combustion chamber, and thanks
to the special design of the intake ports.
In contrast to the basic engine, the valve
assembly is driven by a dry-running tim-
ing belt. The valve assembly has cam
phaser at the intake and exhaust side,
which permit an adjusting range of 50
CA. This results in a maximum valve
overlap of (EVC-IVO) = 73 CA with a valve
lift of hv = 1 mm. As a result, a very wide
adjusting range is available for dethrot-
tling by means of internal exhaust gas
recirculation at partial load or scavenging
to increase the torque at full load.
The central location of the spark plug
in combination with the small bore
diameter of d = 65.5 mm has a positive
effect on the knock resistance. This spark
plug positioning results in a slightly off-
centre injector position. The design of
FUEL E10MB
the asymmetric spray pattern of the
multi-hole injectors represents a compro-
mise between homogenisation and wet-
ting of the cylinder wall or the valves.
Furthermore, there should be the option
for an ignition-linked injection to opti-
mise the cold start and warm-up behav-
iour. As part of the investigations, three
different injection nozzles were com-
pared with each other.
In order to achieve high brake mean
effective pressures of up to BMEP = 27.5
bar, the engine is equipped with a two-
stage charging system. It consists of a tur-
bocharger and a mechanical compressor
that can be coupled via an electromag-
netic dry clutch. In addition to high boost
pressure, this permits very good in-sta-
tionary behaviour, even in the low engine
speed range, whereby fuel consumption
and the effort required for the regulation
are acceptable. In view of the systematic
design of the research engine that is
geared towards operation with ethanol-
E20SB E85SB ETHANOL

recoverable, biogenic blended ethanol Density at 20C 746.2 kg/m 3 767.2 kg/m 3 781kg/m 808.8 kg/m 3
fuels, which feature a high octane num- research octane 95.7 102.2 106.1
number 108.6
ber, is a good idea. In addition to the
Lower calorific value 41.68 MJ/kg 39.71 MJ/kg 29.16MJ/kg 27.06 MJ/kg
above mentioned direct CO2 reduction
Carbon mass fraction 83.38 % 79.27 % 56.9 % 49.80 %
potential thanks to engine efficiency, the
hydrogen mass fraction 13.36 % 13.49 % 13.2 % 13.00 %
savings during the production of fuel
oxygen mass fraction 3.26 % 7.24 % 29.9 % 37.20 %
must be rated positively, if the energy
Mean molar mass 94.9 g/mol 87.4 g/mol 55 g/mol 42.9 g/mol
required for the production process is not
disproportionally high [3, 4]. Ethanol mass fraction 9.2 % 20.8 % 86.1 % 99.9 %
stoichiometric air
requirement 14.6 13.3 9.8 9

Vaporisation enthalpy 428.5 kJ/kg 495.5 kJ/kg 778.2 kJ/kg 1014.0 kJ/kg
TEST OBJECTS AND FUELS
Chemical and physical fuel properties
The engine block and the crank assembly
of a 0.8 l three-cylinder diesel engine are
used as a basis for the test object. The
high stability of the diesel engine permits
maximum mean cylinder pressures of up
to pcyl, max = 142 bar, which takes the high
peak pressures to be expected into
account with reasonable certainty, in par-
ticular when using ethanol-containing
fuels. The strength benefits are accompa-
nied by a frictional torque that is unusu-
ally high for gasoline engines. This must
be taken into account, when evaluating
the effective efficiency.
A new cylinder head was developed
using 1-D gas cycle simulations as well as
3-D CFD computations with the emphasis
on fatigue, cooling, and flow. The 3-valve Variation of valve timing at n = 2000 rpm and BMEP = 2 bar

autotechreview Feb r u ar y 2 015 Vo lum e 4 | I s su e 2 43

t e C h n o l o g y ENGINEs
containing fuels, compression ratios of
CR = 11 that are relatively high for a
supercharged engine, or CR = 13 in a fur-
ther expansion stage, were analysed. The
design of the piston crown represents a
compromise between high compression
ratio, valve clearance, and the longest
possible unobstructed path length of the
individual spray jets of the injectors.
1 provides an overview of the proper-
ties of the three analysed fuels E10MB,
E20SB, and E85SB, as well as that of pure
ethanol in comparison. The stoichiometric
air-to-fuel ratio (Lst) and the lower heating
value (HU) of E20SB are reduced com-
pared to E10MB because of the presence
of the OH group in the ethanol molecule.
In E85SB, this effect becomes more pro-
nounced due to the increased amount of
ethanol. In spite of the higher combustion
efficiency, the lower calorific value never-
theless results in higher volumetric fuel
consumption. However, the carbon con-
tent that decreases with increasing etha-
nol content compensates for this effect,
when considering at CO2 emissions.
RESULTS OF THE TEST
BENCH INVESTIGATIONS
The goal of the experimental investiga-
Variation of start of injection and rail pressure
44
tions was to highlight the potential of this stability. 2 shows the selected variables
extreme downsizing concept aimed at for this variation in each case above the
reducing fuel consumption, as well as its valve timing exhaust valve closes (EVC)
limitations with regard to the increase in and intake valve opens (IVO) at a lift of 1
the specific power output. For this pur- mm. It is clear to see that the fuel con-
pose, the engine was tested several hun- sumption drops with an increasing valve
dred hours on the engine test bench. In overlap and the resulting dethrottling.
addition to performing basic investiga- On the other hand, the increased resid-
tions during partial load and wide open ual gas portion leads to an unstable com-
throttle, the oil dilution tendency, the bustion all the way down to misfires. The
heat-up characteristics, and the transient location of the maximum fuel conversion
properties of the engine were analysed. leads to the conclusion that the advantage
Some of the results will be presented by of better homogenisation due to early
way of examples in the following. opening of the intake valves outweighs a
later exhaust event, which is preferable
Partial Load when it comes to expansion losses. Tak-
The part load investigations started by ing a safe distance of 10 CA to timing
varying the valve
timing at an
engine speed of n
= 2000 rpm and a
brake mean effec-
tive pressure of
BMEP = 2 bar
with the goal of
achieving an opti-
mum gas cycle as
a compromise
between low spe-
cific fuel con-
sumption and ade-
quate combustion
Comparison of different operation points
www.autotechreview.com
with first combustion misfires into
account, a moderate overlap of EVC = -5
CA after TDC and IVO = -18 CA after
TDC was selected.
As a compromise between friction,
combustion stability, and soot emissions,
injection timing and pressure were
derived for partial load operation in fur-
ther investigations. An early start of injec-
tion has a positive effect on the mixture
formation here and thus on the stability,
expressed by the standard deviation of the
indicated mean effective pressure, 3
(middle). In contrast to this trend, a start
of injection before 340 CA after TDC
leads to increased piston wetting and con-
sequently to increased soot emissions.
The rail pressure also affects the develop-
ment of soot emissions through droplet
diameter and penetration depth or wall
wetting. (below) shows that rail pres-
sures of below 100 bar are not an effective
solution here in spite of a low frictional
mean pressure.
While no significant efficiency advan-
tages can be noted by using high-octane
ethanol fuels in the lower partial-load
range, their increased knock resistance
becomes beneficial in the upper load
ranges and at wide open throttle, 4. In
contrast to conventional E10MB fuel with
an octane number of 95.7, the engine
with E20SB (RON = 102.2) and E85SB
(RON = 106.1) can also be operated in
the upper load range for a longer period
of time or with complete optimal effi-
ciency with a centre of combustion of
approximately 8 CA after TDC. As
shown at the bottom of , the presence
of oxygen in the ethanol molecule signifi-
cantly reduces the tendency of soot for-
mation. This advantage is especially pro-
nounced in the higher load range. As a
result of the low calorific value of ethanol,
a larger volumetric fuel flow rate must be
supplied with increasing ethanol content
at the same load. In order to avoid long
injection times and associated poor mix-
ture formation, the injection pressure has
been increased to the maximum of 250
bar, when using the E85SB.
Wide Open Throttle
Taking a look at the maximum achievable
indicated mean effective pressure at an
engine speed of 1,500 rpm, (right), the
advantage of the lower stoichiometric air-
to-fuel ratio in addition to the improved
autotechreview Feb r u ar y 2 015 Vo lum e 4 | I s su e 2
Variation of valve timing at n = 5500 rpm and full load
efficiency becomes obvious. An up to 16 the right in the centre at the location of
% higher power output is achieved with the spark plug.
high-octane, ethanol-containing fuels than (left) shows a clear drift of the spray
with conventional fuel. The rated power in the direction of the combustion cham-
output of Pe = 96 kW is reached at an ber wall. High flow velocities via the
engine speed of n = 5,500 rpm using intake valve of over 150 m/s already
E20SB. This corresponds to a specific reach the fuel jet at a very early stage and
power output of 120 kW/l. thus prevent an optimum mixture forma-
The earlier mentioned investigations tion while severely wetting the wall. A
for finding optimum valve timing, start central position of the injector would rem-
of injection, as well as injection pres- edy the problem, (right). However, the
sure were performed at this operating risk of an extended flame propagation and
point as well. 5 shows an extract from the associated increased tendency of pre-
the results of the valve timing variation ignition with a decentralised spark plug
at the rated output. We can see that the position have to be taken into considera-
targeted mean effective pressure of tion in this case.
BMEP = 26.2 bar is achieved over a
wide adjusting range. Only at early New European Driving Cycle
intake valve timing is it not possible to To evaluate the steps taken to reduce CO2
build up sufficient boost pressure. emissions, a conventional 1.4 l turbo-
The advantage of the high evaporation charged engine with a comparable power
enthalpy of E20SB fuel and the
associated early centre of com-
bustion as well as the lower
need for enrichment is not as
pronounced as expected in the
experiment. This implies that
the mixture formation is inad-
equate. This assumption is
confirmed by an above aver-
age oil dilution level in the
range of the rated power out-
put. The cause and a possible
countermeasure are illustrated
in 6. It shows the droplet dis-
tributions at 510 CA after
TDC as the result of a 3-D CFD
simulation of the rated power
output point on the left for the
current, slightly decentralised
position of the injector and on 3-D-CFD simulation at rated power for different injector positions
45
t e C h n o l o g y ENGINEs
Fuel consumption and Co2 emissions in NEDC vehicle simulation
output of 94 kW can be used for compari-
son. Based on the measurements, vehicle
longitudinal dynamics simulations were
carried out and the fuel consumption in
the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC)
was determined using the same general
conditions. A vehicle from the B segment
with a mass of 1,360 kg, a seven-speed
dual clutch transmission, as well as a
start/stop system was used as platform.
The transmissions of both engines were
designed in each case paying attention to
comparable driving performances in par-
ticular with regard to flexibility.
7 shows the fuel consumption cor-
rected to a lower heating value of Hu =
42.5 MJ/kg as well as the CO2 emissions
of the 1.4 l turbocharged engine in com-
parison to the illustrated 0.8 l downsizing
engine, while using different fuels. The
volumetric fuel consumption shows the
actual advantage in efficiency of the con-
cept or alternatively the fuel. In the case
of CO2 emissions, the chemical composi-
tion of the ethanol-containing fuel, to be
exact the lower ratio between carbon (C)
and hydrogen (H), additionally has a posi-
tive effect. Due to the downsizing, con-
sumption and emission reductions of 11.1
% are already achieved using conven-
tional E10MB.
As shown, conventional fuel has high
knock tendency in the area of higher
loads, while ignition is already possible
with optimal efficiency with as little as
20 vol.-% of ethanol (RON102.2) in the
operating points that are relevant for the
cycle. This is why no further consump-
tion advantage can be noted with E85
46
(RON106.1) in terms
of volumetric con-
sumption. However,
when we look at CO2
emissions, the afore-
mentioned advantage
of the lower C/H ratio
becomes apparent
and a reduction in
CO2 emissions of 14.9
% can be achieved.
During the inter-
pretation of the
results, we must
always include the
frictional level of the
diesel engine that is
relatively high in com-
parison to other gaso-
line engines, which is approximately 20
% above the level of current 1.0 l turbo-
charged engines. Despite the necessary
high peak pressure resistance as well as
the smaller displacement, there still is a
considerable potential for reductions here.
SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK
By systematically gearing the system
towards high-octane ethanol fuels, it was
possible to reach a specific power output
of 120 kW/l with a displacement of only
0.8 l. The compression ratio that is rela-
tively high for this degree of charging
leads to substantial efficiency advantages
during partial load, which also have a
particularly positive effect in the NEDC in
addition to the shift in the load point
resulting from the displacement reduc-
tion. It is therefore possible to forecast a
reduction in CO2 emissions for the devel-
oped engine in the cycle of up to 15 %, in
comparison to a 1.4 l turbocharged engine
with comparable output.
The challenges of this type of extreme
displacement reduction become apparent
in the area of the rated power output.
High compression pressures promote
unwanted combustion phenomena such
as pre-ignition and knocking. Due to their
high evaporation enthalpy and knock
resistance, high-octane, biogenic fuels
offer a high potential for counteracting
these problems. A compromise between a
central spark plug position in favour of
short flame propagation and a central
injector position to prevent wetting the
walls has been proven to be essential. In
particular, the long fuel-related injection
periods require a precise design of the
spray pattern, the injector position, and
the injection pressure.
Thanks to the development of this
extreme concept, a new research engine is
available to the Institute for further inves-
tigations. The engine has already been
extended by a cooled, external exhaust
gas recirculation system, for example.
Moreover, the system is supposed to be
analysed with camshafts designed for the
Miller cycle in order to determine its
potential, in particular with regard to a
further reduction in the tendency to knock
and therefore a reduction in CO2 emis-
sions in the rated power output range.
REFERENCES
[1] Golloch, r.: Downsizing bei Verbrennungsmo-
toren. Berlin/heidelberg: springer-Verlag, 2005
[2] Weinowski, r. et al.: Co2-Potenzial eines
zweistufigen VCr-systems in Kombination mit
zuknftigen ottomotorischen Antriebskonzepten. 33.
Internationales Wiener Motorensymposium, 2012
[3] N. N.: Bioenergy Chances and Limits. Leopol-
dina: Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2012
[4] Picard, K. (hrsg.): Zukunft der Kraftstoffe:
Bewertung fossiler und erneuerbarer Kraftstoffe
unter Bercksichtigung der Nachhaltigkeitskrite-
rien. 14. Aachener Kolloquium Fahrzeug- und Mo-
torentechnik, 2005
THANkS
This report is the scientific result of the research
project design of a downsized DI gasoline engine
for use with biofuels to reduce CO2 emissions
(Project number: 1041), which was provided by
the Research Association for Internal Combus-
tion Engines e. V. (FVV, Frankfurt, Germany).
Support for the project was provided by a project
management committee from FVV, headed by
Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Kramer (Ford Werke GmbH,
Cologne). The authors want to thank this work
group for their great support.
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t e C h n o l o g y CES 2015

WHEN AUTOMAKERS INVADED A

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
In its over 40-year history, the International CES at Las Vegas had not seen the kind of enthusiasm it saw from
the automotive industry this January. A record 10 global carmakers participated, and numerous suppliers show-
cased technologies that would drive the future car; technologies that would significantly alter the way consumers
will experience mobility of the future. In this feature, we bring to you some of the most noteworthy technology
demonstrations from CES 2015.

The F 015 Luxury in Motion concept showcased by

Mercedes-Benz

The kind of automotive attention that
the CES (Consumer Electronics Show)
has been getting is no surprise. Modern
vehicles are getting synonymous with
technology. Whether it is driverless cars
or vehicle communication technologies;
gesture-controlled infotainment systems
or head-up displays that augment reality
automotive technology is developing
at a speed never experienced before. We
spoke to some of the participants at CES
2015, and understand that automotive is
no longer a trend, but very much an
integral part of CES.
Led by Toyota and Volkswagen, eight
other top automakers Audi, BMW,
Chrysler, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Mazda
and Mercedes lined up innovations for
the future. The organisers stated that
17 % of the exhibit space was taken
up by automotive exhibits, a record by
far. It is hard to say which of the
technologies displayed were most
significant, for there were far too many.
This is not an exhaustive list, but
highlights of a few important and
innovative demonstrations.

48 www.autotechreview.com
MERCEDES-BENZ
The German giant showcased its vision of
an autonomous driving future through the
demonstration of the F 015 Luxury in
Motion concept. The one-box design car
is over five metre long and two metre
wide, and has a wheelbase of 3,610 mm.
The body is a combination of CFRP, alu-
minium and steel, which has aided in
lowering the vehicle mass by around 40
%. The interior is lounge like, with four
rotating chairs that can turn to face each
other. There is no B pillar, and the front
and rear-hinged doors that open to 90
degrees, aid access to the F 015.
High resolution display screens
integrated into the dashboard, rear and
side panels are controlled by eye-tracking,
gesture control or touch. These allow
passengers to interact with the car and
the outside world. LEDs are used to
communicate with other cars and road
users white will indicate manual
driving, while theyll glow blue when the
car is in autonomous mode. Dr Dieter
Zetsche, CEO, Daimler called the F 015 a
mobile living space.
VOLVO CARS
In what is an interesting three-way collab-
oration, Volvo Cars has been working
with protective gravity sports gear manu-
facturer POC and Ericsson to develop an
innovative safety technology that helps
car drivers connect with cyclists on the
road. The technology, demonstrated at
CES, consists of a connected car and hel-
met prototype that establishes a two-way
communication offering proximity alerts
to Volvo drivers and cyclists, and thereby
avoiding accidents.
Volvo Cars displayed an innovative safety technology connecting car drivers, cyclists
autotechreview F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5
This is the first manifestation of a con-
nected safety technology, and promises to
address the growing incidences of crashes
between cars and cyclists in many mature
markets. Volvo Cars City Safety system
standard on the all-new XC90 is a tech-
nology that can detect, warn and auto-
brake to avoid collisions with cyclists. The
technology uses radar and camera to
detect cyclists and based on advanced
sensor technology, it can apply full auto-
matic braking should the car come close
to a collision.
HYUNDAI MOTOR CO
The Korean automaker, meanwhile, pre-
sented Display Audio, a high resolution
seven-inch colour touch-screen display
that has been optimised specifically for
enhanced smartphone integrations and
the latest generation Blue Link system.
Display Audio allows iPhone owners to
use Apple CarPlay to take the familiar fea-
tures from their iPhones and put them
right on the touch-screen display while
driving. Similarly, Android Auto brings
the Android experience into the car by
projecting apps and services into the
Display Audio system. The smartphone
integrations can be brought in using an
easy-to-access USB port. Once the connec-
tion is made, users can access their smart-
phone for phone calls and contacts,
music, navigation, messaging, and opti-
mised third-party apps.
BMW
Among several new innovations, BMW
showcased a 360-degree collision avoid-
ance technology, and fully-automated
BMW ConnectedDrive menu, like RTTI, can be uploaded even in traffic jams
Volu m e 4 | Issu e 2
parking in multi-storey car parks. For the
demonstration, the carmaker used an i3,
which had four advanced laser scanners
that record the environment and reliably
identify impediments such as columns,
for example in a multi-storey car park, the
company noted in a release to the press. If
the vehicle approaches a wall or a column
too quickly, the system brakes automati-
cally to prevent the threat of collision. The
vehicle is brought to a standstill very pre-
cisely with centimetres to spare. Like all
BMW assistance systems, this research
application can be overridden at any time
by the driver.
HARMAN INTERNATIONAL
Global leader in infotainment and audio
systems for the car, home, and profes-
sional markets, HARMAN International
also focussed on the connected car revo-
lution. And since the infotainment sys-
tem is the gateway between the vehicle
and the Internet, it is a key factor in
making the Connected Car vision a real-
ity, said Sachin Lawande, Executive Vice
President and President, Infotainment
Division, HARMAN in a pre-event web-
cast to the media.
Among many innovative displays, one
critical feature that HARMAN believes is
a killer feature or app of the connected
car is the high-end navigation solution
based on the Navigation Data Standard,
or NDS, that is able to incrementally
update map data in the field. Incremental
updates of map data were not possible in
the past due to the inherent complexity of
the highly co-related data, said Lawande.
But the new over-the-air incremental
update capability the first in the indus-
try ensures that the map data and navi-
49
t e C h n o l o g y CES 2015
Harman aha cloud service can project vehicle health
gation software are always up-to-date.
This end-to-end solution ensures that
only the part of map data that needs to be
updated is sent to the infotainment sys-
tem, resulting in optimised data download
requirements and faster updates. These
updates take place in the background,
imperceptible to the driver and without
loss of infotainment system performance,
said Lawande.
BOSCH
The largest global supplier of automotive
parts and systems, Bosch, showcased
intelligent, sustainable solutions for a con-
nected world across a wide range of prod-
ucts and solutions. The internet of things
(IoT) is one area Bosch is harping big on.
Bosch is harping on Internet of Things (IoT)
50
At the CES, Bosch demonstrated how it is
making cars an active part of the internet.
On the hardware side, Bosch has a con-
nectivity control unit, which essentially is
a small box connected to the in-car net-
work and comprises a GMS module for
communication, and usually also a GPS
module that provides data on the current
position important information for
many services. As early as 2016, Bosch
expects every new long-haul commercial
vehicle in Europe and the United States to
be offered with a networking solution.
On the other hand, Bosch Software
Innovations offered a modular software
suite that can be flexibly utilised. From
2015, it will form the platform for an
innovative intermodal transportation
concept in Stuttgart, Germany. eCall,
meanwhile, is a life-saving in-vehicle
emergency notification service. In the
event of an accident, the eCall service
sends information to a Bosch communi-
cation centre, from where necessary
immediate assistance is initiated.
CONTINENTAL
At CES 2015, Continental exhibited its
technologies under the theme, the power
of intelligent mobility and under four
innovation paths: control, entertainment,
information and safety. At the core of
Continentals innovations this year was
the dynamic electronic Horizon (eHori-
zon). Jointly developed with partners IBM
and HERE, eHorizon helps turn the digital
map into a high-precision and constantly
up-to-date sensor that can be used for
much more than just navigation.
Helmut Matschi, Member of the Conti-
nental Executive Board and Head of the
Interior division, said with the dynamic
eHorizon, Continental has the ability to
incorporate dynamic events like weather,
Continental demonstrated a smart watch
traffic or construction sites on the route
into the digital map and make this infor-
mation available for vehicle electronics.
In fact, the dynamic eHorizon turns cars
into moving sensors, which constantly
exchange data on the road with the
cloud, he said. Continental also show-
cased connected energy management for
its mild hybrid system 48 Volt Eco Drive,
which allows for the most efficient operat-
ing strategies during the drive.
The company also demonstrated how
a smart watch can be transformed into a
remote car key. As a car key, the smart
watch uses Bluetooth to connect to Conti-
nentals latest bidirectional remote key
also known as the gateway key. The gate-
way key works as an interface between
the vehicle and the smart watch to trans-
fer data (vehicle and diagnostics data, and
user profile) to the vehicle, stated a com-
pany release. Through an App on the
smart watch, the driver can open or close
the vehicle or exchange other information
simply by using its display.
CONCLUSION
Connectivity was clearly one of the major
trends at the CES this year, with signifi-
cant growth in the Internet of Things
devices sector. Samsung, for instance, has
committed that by 2017, 90 % of all its
devices will be Internet-enabled. Driver-
less vehicles are still some time away, but
mobility in general is already connected
in many senses, and the rate of growth in
this domain will be extremely fast paced.
TExT: Deepangshu Dev Sarmah
pHOTO: Respective OEMs & Suppliers
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International Exhibition on Technologies for

Automotive Manufacturing
7 9 July 2015
Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, India
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Providers of equipment, systems, machineries, tools and software
used in the car and car-part factory should exhibit at the show.
Suppliers of production, Assembly line equipment, Manufacturing
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t e C h n o l o g y DATSUN GO +

DATSUN GO+
ADDING TO SPACE, VALUE
When the Datsun brand was revived and launched globally in India, it was clear that Nissan wanted to strength-
en its position in the market. The company announced the GO hatchback, which it believed to be accepted well
by the young first-time buyers on the lookout for a modern and spacious hatchback at low price. However, the
GO wasnt successful at attracting enough customers to Nissan India showrooms. The recent negative Global
NCAP crash test results didnt help either. The company has now launched the GO+, a seven-seat compact
MPV, which it calls Indias first compact family wagon. Being a sub-four metre vehicle, the GO+ qualifies for ex-
cise duty benefits and that has allowed the company to price the vehicle lower than any other seven-seat vehicle
in the country. But is that enough to draw customers from choosing the GO+ over B-segment hatchbacks? We
drove the vehicle around the serene surroundings of Rishikesh to understand the product better.

52 www.autotechreview.com

Design changes start rear door onwards and give the GO+ a decent visual identity on the outside
WHY ADD TO THE GO
At a time when the GO isnt doing well
and market feedback isnt exactly positive
for the company, one could question the
logic behind launching an extended ver-
sion of an under-performing vehicle. Fun-
damentally, the reasons seem strong.
Seven-seat MPVs have performed well in
recent times, a case in point being the
Honda Mobilio or even the Maruti Ertiga.
The concept of being able to carry more
in a larger vehicle at a competitive price-
tag works well with the value-conscious
Indian consumers.
But is the GO+ really an MPV? That
was the first question we asked ourselves.
By the looks of it, it could qualify as one,
but from a technical and segmentation
perspective, it comes across more like a
station wagon, especially with no changes
to its design till the rear door. This means
that one will never be able to see a GO+
coming through, but only leaving. A slight
play with colours and plastic couldve
helped as some might not appreciate the
similar looks. Essentially, the GO+ is a
compact MPV, and as we found out, it has
to deal with many variables too.
DOES THE + ADD?
From an engineering perspective, the
changes have primarily been done to the
extended rear, which houses a small
bench to seat two people. Weve men-
tioned the usability of these seats and the
vehicle itself elsewhere in this story but
autotechreview Feb r u ar y 2 015
first, lets look at the changes that went
into adding the third-row of seats.
At 3,995 mm, the GO+ smartly man-
ages to cut into the excise-duty rebates,
while growing longer by 210 mm over the
GO. The wheelbase hasnt been altered
and hence from the side, the GO+ isnt
suggestive of being a seven-seater.
Whether this is good or bad would vary
from person-to-person. The 210 mm
increase in length allows for the third-row
of seats to be placed, along with a weight
gain of about 35 kg. Majority of this
weight is attributable to the increased
sheet metal and the seats.
Talking of the last-row of seats, these
are at best suitable only for small kids.
Lack of adequate headroom, legroom and
thigh-support make the last row of the
GO+ almost unusable for adults. Moreo-
The 1.2 l engine is largely unchanged from the GO except for some tuning to cope up with the added weight
Vo lum e 4 | I s su e 2
ver, its not just the space, which makes
the last-row an uncomfortable place, since
ingress and egress too isnt easy. This is
probably due to the retention of the
wheelbase, which didnt allow for widen-
ing the doors entrance area. The seatbelts
at the rear dont have an inertia reel, in
favour of cost-cutting and the belts in the
last row are waist-over two-point belts,
which isnt too safe. Also, every time the
middle-row is folded down, the seat belts
come off and need to be re-inserted.
EFFECTS OF ADDITIONAL WEIGHT
As a result of the additional weight, the
engine has been tuned slightly to deliver
more response and the rear suspension
too has been tweaked. The changes made
here seemed to have worked well as the
GO+ turned out to be adequately pow-
ered for its purpose and offered good driv-
ability as well. Stability at high speeds
was good and the suspension offers good
ride quality over broken surfaces too. The
steering unit was adequately light and
offered average feedback, adding to the
general ease of driving the GO+.
The engine is a 1.2 l unit with an out-
put of 67 hp and 104 Nm of torque, paired
to a five-speed manual transmission. The
company claims a fuel-efficiency of 20.62
km/l, which is almost same as the GO
hatchback. What could bother the occu-
pants at highway speeds though is the
high NVH levels, which means a lot of
engine sound, tyre-roll noise, wind whis-
tle and vibrations make way into the
53
t e C h n o l o g y DATSUN GO +
The interior is pretty basic and the area around the hand brake can be uncomfortable for the knees of the driver. Plastic and build quality though was impressive
Space in the last row isnt adequate and the lack of a three-point seat belt reduces the safety quotient. Power windows can be operated only from respective door panels
cabin. At city speeds though, things are
more acceptable.
TECHNICAL ROUND-Up
Like every vehicle, the GO+ has its posi-
tive and negative traits, and ultimately it
will come down to the priority of con-
sumers and the vehicular traits fulfilling
them or not. What makes the GO+ dif-
ferent is its projected positioning as a
compact seven-seater. Anyone with a
requirement for a seven-seater might not
feel convinced about the GO+ in gen-
eral. An uncomfortable third-row with
lesser safety of a two-point seat-belt is
not a place where anyone would/ should
place their kids.
For a hatchback owner though, the
GO+ might come across as a good
option. For someone on the lookout for
54
a spacious hatch, the GO+ turns out to
offer unmatchable space. With the last-
row folded, boot volume increases from
48 l to 350 l, which is comparable with
some compact sedans. Space in the first
two rows is generous and the seats
themselves are quite comfortable for
long journeys.
Equipment is pretty basic with the
inclusion of AC, mobile-docking station
and power-steering. Power windows can
only be operated form their respective
door panels and ORVMs have to be
adjusted manually from the outside. The
glove-box too is uncovered, with the plas-
tic and build-quality being a saving grace
for the cabin. Safety features such as ABS
and airbags are not available even as an
option since low-cost visibly turns out to
be the platforms prerogative.
For a vehicle that looks decent and
offers good practicality, the problem lies
somewhat in its positioning. Projecting it
as a seven-seater could result in many
returning disappointed, but for those
looking at it as an alternative to a hatch-
back, the GO+ comes across as a reason-
able choice. The GO+ is priced between
` 3.79 to ` 4.61 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi.
At this price, its clear that the company
has passed the cost-cutting benefits to its
customers and for those finding value in a
low-cost vehicle with flexible and ample
space, there is no alternative to the GO+
for now in the market.
TExT: Arpit Mahendra
pHOTO: Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay
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S H O P F L O O R SCANIA INDIA

PREMIUMNESS TO REMAIN
HALLMARK, BUT LOCALISATION KEY
Scania Commercial Vehicles India (SCVI), a major player in the premium commercial vehicle segment globally,
has already gathered a significant market share in India. In a recent visit to the SCVI shopfloor, we took a look
at the chassis and body assembly facility, as well as its service and repair facilities. We also spoke to Anders
Grundstrmer, Managing Director, SCVI & Senior Vice President, Scania Group and Richard
Wardemark, Director Production,
SCVI, and went through
assembly line at the facility.

56 www.autotechreview.com
INTRODUCTION
While most of the trucks and buses are
only assembled in the companys facility
in Narsapura, near Bangalore, the produc-
tion of bus bodies has begun on trial
basis. The company plans to begin full-
scale production of bus bodies, with a
high level of local content on compo-
nents, by the first quarter of 2015.
The Regional Product Centre, which is
what Scania calls all its assembly facilities
globally, also houses a service area. The
facility is spread over 250,000 sq m, with
only half of it being built up right now,
and houses the chassis assembly facility,
Scania service workshop and bus body
factory. Scania has invested a total of `
300 cr into its facility in Bangalore, for a
production capacity of 2,500 trucks and
1,000 buses per year. The company plans
to double its production capacity by 2017,
and will need to invest about ` 150 cr for
that, Grundstrmer said. The assembly
facility at SCVI is a flexible one that can
be used for bus chassis, as well as chassis
of trucks in the on-road and off-road seg-
ments. The facility assembles tippers and
trailer trucks in various configurations
and capacities. The tippers assembled at
the facility range between 18.83 and
32-cubic metres in capacity, with rock
body and coal body configurations.
SCANIA PRODUCTION SYSTEM (SPS)
The assembly line at the facility has seven
stations and four sub-assembly lines, with
each station carrying out specific assem-
blies with regards to trucks or buses. The
stations have position standards, with ele-
ment sheets that define set of tasks to be
carried out by each station. Operators at
the facility are freshers, who were directly
Components are received as semi-assembled kits, and are put in feeders for final assembly
autotechreview F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5
recruited from colleges and were trained
according to Scanias production stand-
ards (SPS). Wardemark said when pro-
duction began at the facility in August
2013, the operators could manufacture
one truck per day, and now with appro-
priate training, they are able to roll out
five trucks. The chassis assembly facility
currently has a total of about 65 employ-
ees, with more than 50 employees consti-
tuting blue-collar positions. Within the
blue-collar section of employees, 38 are
operators belonging to production, and
the rest take care of logistics. The bus
body plant currently has about 300
employees, which is expected to reach
1,200 employees by 2017, for the produc-
tion of both trucks and buses.
Components manufactured in Sweden
and Brazil are shipped to Zwolle in Hol-
land, where they are kitted-up and finally
sent to India. The kits come in batches of
multiples of three, as per the production
requirement, and are arranged in wagons
in order of the station that they are
required in. All the critical components of
buses and trucks, including engine, trans-
mission and axles come as pre-assembled
kits, which are then assembled into the
finished vehicle. The trucks have a local
component content of over 25 %. The
cabins come painted to the facility accord-
ing to customer requirements, thus result-
ing in the omission of a paint booth com-
pletely. Cabin parts like the roof panels,
side panels and flooring are indigenised,
while the dashboard continues to arrive
with the kit. The trucks assembled at the
facility are currently being fitted with
MRF tyres, adding to their local content,
but the company said there is no restric-
tion on that. Wardemark said different
tyres brands requested specifically by cus-
tomers can be supplied as well.
Other parts that are currently localised
Volu m e 4 | Issu e 2
on the trucks include the closed cross
member on the chassis, wheel arches,
head lamps, head lamp frames, and plas-
tic parts like light lenses. The different
configurations of tipper bodies and sys-
tems for the trucks are currently supplied
by Hyva, with the possibility of using
other suppliers, on customer request.
Wardemark said the company is con-
stantly looking to find additional local
suppliers, who can meet the required
standards in supplying components,
which would result in reduced costs of
the vehicles.
The company offers trucks with vari-
ous power and torque outputs in six-cylin-
der engine configurations, and has
recently launched its truck with a V8
engine as well. Customers, who wish to
have a truck with an engine configuration
not currently offered, can request to have
their vehicles fitted with a different Scania
engine, Wardemark noted. He added that
the only condition is that the engine
offered will be one from Scanias global
line-up of engines. This reflects the high
customisability of the products offered by
the company. The final station of the
assembly line is where all the fluids, such
as fuel, oils, and other special fluids are
fed into the vehicle. This station is also
where the software programming for the
vehicle is done. The programming is
important since every vehicle assembled
at Scanias facility is fitted with a fleet
management system. This fleet manage-
ment system is the main telematics tech-
nology that is offered by the company.
On the buses, only the battery and
tyres are localised, which accounts for
only 18 % currently. The rest of the com-
ponents are in the form of kits. Once the
bus manufacturing facility is completely
set-up, the content of localised parts is
expected to go up to almost 80 %. This is
57
S H O P F L O O R SCANIA INDIA

mainly a result of the fact that the body

will be completely indigenised, with only
the driveline being imported, Grund-
strmer said.
The process of building a bus would
be welding of structures, rust protection,
assembly, painting, rain testing and under
coating, and finally assembly of interiors.
Employees at the bus facility are currently
undergoing training in all these areas, so
the initial production is expected to be
slow, but of high quality, Grundstrmer
noted. The number of employees is
expected to grow further, mainly since
bus body-building activities cannot be
supported much with the use of automa-
tion and robotics.

PRE-DELIVERY INSPECTION

The final phase of the vehicles assem-

bled at the plant is the pre-delivery
inspections (PDI) that are performed to
validate the quality of assembly, and per-
formance of the various components.
The vehicles go through a number of
PDIs before being handed over to cus-
tomers, including activities such as pre-
road testing, post-road testing and on-
road testing. The vehicles go through an
average road test of between 25 and 30
km, to check on the quality of assembly
of the vehicles, said Wardemark.
SERVICE AND REPAIR CENTRE
Set-up in 2013, the Scania service work-
shop has eight bays, with six of them
used for regular service and two dedi-
cated to carry out repairs. Wardemark
said the service workshop is in accord-
ance to standards set by Scania for all its
similar centres globally. The truck crash
repair area is claimed to be the first of its
kind in India, with a recently-upgraded
specialised repair machine. The machine
can be used to repair chassis and cabins,
in terms of straightening and alignment.
All components are assembled on to the chassis according to the Scania Production System
The machine uses induction heaters to
straighten the chassis, so that the material
properties are not lost. This machine can
also be used to correct bus chassis, the
company said.
The service workshop is also said to be
equipped with waste oil, and new oil dis-
pensing units for more accurate dispensing
of oil and fluids. The company claimed the
Scania service workshop to be a highly
modernised one, which is a model work-
shop for dealerships of the company in the
country. The workshop at the facility has
about 15 employees at present, including
blue and white collar positions.
CONCLUSION
While SCVI said it would always remain
a provider of premium segment heavy
commercial vehicles in India, it is con-
tinuously looking for ways to reduce
costs to customers within this segment.
Primarily, it is trying to identify more
local component suppliers to reduce
import of parts, and thereby reduce
prices of the trucks. It is also manufac-
turing trucks with systems like liftable
tag axles, which assist in the reduction of
fuel-consumption, and eventually costs.
The company also hopes to achieve good
sales of its buses, since it will have a
high level of indigenous components that
may favour optimum pricing.
(Details relating to the future of the
Indian HCV segment, technologies from
Scania and other details regarding the
company were featured in our November
2014 issue and can be accessed on our
website as well.)
TExT & PhOTO: Naveen Arul
Read this article on
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Scanias chassis assembly facility is used for both trucks and buses, having a total annual production capacity of 3,500 units

58 www.autotechreview.com
 www.autotechreview.com January 2015 | Volume 4 | Issue 1

14 INTERVIEW
Vinnie Mehta,
Director General, ACMA

18 TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT
Ethernet as an Emerging Trend in
Vehicle Network Technology Part II

60 NEW VEHICLE
Tata Bolt New Lease of Life for Tata
Motors

FUTURE MOBILITY
WHAT LIES AHEAD OF US POWERED BY

EACH

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N E W V E H I C L E MERCEDES-BENZ

MERCEDES-BENZ C-CLASS
BABY S UPS THE ANTE

60 www.autotechreview.com
In recent time, a slew of new mod-
el introductions have transformed
Mercedes-Benz Indias line-up into
a youthful and expansive one. A
key member of MBIL portfolio is
the C-Class, with over 20,000 cars
on Indian roads. We recently put
the new fourth-generation C200
through its paces to find out if it
carries on from where the old mod-
el left, and if its the best around in
the market.
autotechreview F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5
INTRODUCTION
One just needs a first glance to under-
stand why the new C-Class is referred to
as the Baby S. While the design language
of the S-Class has been carried forward to
the smaller C, in terms of features too, it
borrows a lot from the elder sibling,
which already is the most technically
advanced car in its segment presently.
Would that mean the C-Class automati-
cally becomes the most advanced car in
its segment? The answer to that is a bit
complicated and long, and keeping that in
mind, weve tried explaining its technol-
ogy herein.
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
As it has been with the companys recent
generation changes, exterior design has
matured and the new C-Class looks much
cleaner and grown-up yet zesty than its
predecessor. Although the changes make
it seem similar to the larger S-Class, the
C-Class maintains its distinct identity. The
front is a typical present-age Mercedes
design with a large grille and the centre-
placed star logo. A key technical aspect of
the new design is the high balance it
strikes between form and functionality.
The headlamps look pleasing, partly
due to the presence of the LED day-time
running light, which manages to look
attractive without going overboard. At the
rear, the embedded wrap-around tail
lamps look neat and attractive, particu-
larly when lit. The rear spoiler lip at the
edge of the boot not only adds to the
dynamism of the design, but also aids aer-
odynamic efficiency considerably. Simi-
larly, the lines and design on the side
does a dual-job of elongating the visual
imprint as well as imparting a slippery
surface for the passing air. The efficiency
of these changes is proven by the low
drag coefficient of just 0.27.
The car is visibly larger than the earlier
model and is attractive from all angles.
Dimensionally, the wheelbase has grown
by 80 mm to 2,840 mm, while the overall
length has gone up by 95 mm to 4,686
mm over the older model. Coupled with a
width increase of 40 mm to 1,810 mm, the
new C-Class now offers a larger cabin.
In interest of efficiency, aluminium
has been used extensively in the con-
Volu m e 4 | Issu e 2
struction, 48 % to be precise, resulting
in a weight loss of 100 kg over its prede-
cessor. Aluminium content, both sheet
metal and cast, has increased from four
per cent of vehicle weight (previous
generation) to 24 %, indicating the
focus on weight reduction.
A long bonnet signals the presence of a
powerful engine and driver-focussed cre-
dentials. In a nutshell, the new C-Class
combines subtlety and dynamism as a key
trait of its design language, while main-
taining a forward-looking attitude.
POWERTRAIN
The C200 is the only variant on sale in
India right now and is powered by a four-
cylinder turbocharged petrol engine dis-
placing 1,991 cc, which has been devel-
oped with a key focus on lightweighting.
This engine is presently the lightest in its
segment in the country and develops 184
hp at 5,500 rpm and 300 Nm of torque
between 1,200 and 1,400 rpm. The rpm
range is of key importance since it means
there is almost no perceivable lag right
from the start, and bottom-end perfor-
mance is energetic.
Third-generation direct injection sys-
tem with spray-guided combustion now
features a 200 bar pressure, which is opti-
mised variably in accordance with the
engine ECU demands. Fuel-efficiency is
further aided by rapid multi-spark igni-
tion, which can release up to four sparks
successively in one millisecond and can
be controlled to vary the spark timing or
the combustion period relevant to an ideal
operating point. Doing so optimises the
centre of combustion and improves resid-
ual gas compatibility, leading to lower
emissions and higher fuel-efficiency.
Thermal efficiency too has been
improved for this engine platform by stop-
ping coolant flow for a cold start. This
heats up the engine quicker, resulting in
better combustion and lower emissions
and fuel consumption. The company
claims fuel efficiency of 14.74 km/l and
during our test spanning over 250 km,
with a highway to city ratio of 30:70, we
got an indicated figure of 11.4 km/l.
The engine is mated to a seven-speed
7G-TRONIC PLUS transmission, which
operates smoothly and offers quick shifts.
One can also choose between Comfort,
61
N E W V E H I C L E MERCEDES-BENZ
Displacing 2 l, the four-cylinder turbocharged engine offers smooth and responsive performance all through
Economy, Sport, Sport + or individual
drive modes, which would alter the
engine, transmission and steering behav-
iour in accordance with the mode.
Performance from this 2l unit is
impressive and stronger than the numbers
suggest. This is mainly due to the light-
weight structure, leading to better
response overall. The engine is almost
silent when cruising at about 80 km/h
and even during brisk acceleration, the
sound isnt obtrusive. Where the engine
does miss out though is its sound and the
exhaust note, which sound quite ordinary
and do not create any excitement in con-
junction with the engines performance.
During our test, we achieved a 0-100
km/h time of 7.6 s.
DYNAMICS
The new C-Class is a significantly better
car to drive than its predecessor, largely
due to the significant weight loss and
higher torsional rigidity. For India, the
suspension has been tweaked to offer
better ride quality and better clearance
for the underbelly. As a result, the
ground clearance has been raised and
the suspension has been softened. Over
broken surfaces and expansion joints,
the cabin remains almost free from
external shocks and chauffeur-driven
people will greatly appreciate the new
car for its supple ride quality.
At high speed, the car is stable in
straight line and creates no fuss, what-
soever the surface quality may be.
62
Through long corners, the car maintains
good composure and even over slightly
loose surfaces handling remains predict-
able. The soft suspension set-up though
does lead to evident body-roll, when
taking tight turns. Steering feedback is
almost none, although it does artificially
weigh up nicely. Engaging the Sport+
mode improves matters but not to a
great extent as far as the steering feed-
back is concerned.
Braking is of top notch quality and
its impossible to find fault with the
brake performance on regular roads.
What hampers driving pleasure is the
traction control system, which cuts in
too early and in an abrupt manner. If
not for the steering and the over-active
traction control, the C-Class might have
edged ahead of its competition in terms
Traction control cutting in early limits the potential to exploit the abilities of the improved chassis & suspension
of handling, but it doesnt.
INTERIORS
For anyone, whos been in the cabins of
the Audi A4 or the BMW 3 Series, it wont
take more than a few seconds to realise
that the new C-Classs cabin is the best in
the business presently. A lot of bits have
been brought in from the S-Class, result-
ing in a significant flow of new technol-
ogy in the cabin. Of all aspects of the
vehicle, the cabin turned out to be the
best bit for us and for its target consum-
ers, thats what would matter a lot. For
the cars price, there is no negative we
could find with the material quality or the
design of the cabin, both of which were
actually more impressive than expected.
The centre console houses the display
screen and chrome elements around it in
a very tasteful and impressive way. The
Burmester speakers on the doors are ele-
gantly designed with a silver finish and
add to the upscale quality of the cabin.
Another key aspect about the cabin is its
overall design, which comes across as
very open and airy, adding to the percep-
tion of space, which is generous in the
first place.
Front seats offer great cushioning and
the rear seats too offer good support
along with ample space for legs, head
and good under-thigh support. The pano-
ramic sunroof is another novelty factor in
the cabin and makes night travel a tad
more special. Adding to this feel is the
ambient lighting, which offers a choice
www.autotechreview.com
A matured design up front and a neat yet sporty rear lend the new C-Class with a distinct and plesant visual characteristic

between three colours.
The control-system for the display
includes a rotary-knob, under a touch-
sensitive mouse-like unit. The unit
responds to swipe motion to shuffle func-
tions between menus and also to drawing
gestures. Control layout is ergonomic-
friendly and offers a high-quality tactile
response. Beyond the usual playback
sources such as Bluetooth, FM, CD and
USB, the system also offers in-built navi-
gation from Garmin.
SAFETY
Mercedes-Benz cars have traditionally
been at the forefront of safety technolo-
gies and the new C-Class is no different.
In addition to the usual safety systems
such as ABS, brake assist, ESP, ASR, Hill
Start Assist and Attention Assist, the car
features Adaptive High Beam Assist Plus.
This system allows for high-beam to be
always kept on, and oncoming traffic is
automatically relieved of the glare by
adjustment of the beam path. PRE-SAFE
system automatically tightens the belt
restraint for passengers and closes all win-
dows and the sunroof in case of an immi-
nent accident.

ROUND-UP

Priced at ` 41.7 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi,

the new C-Class picks up from where the
previous model left and progresses signifi-
cantly in every area. The advancements
made in areas such as powertrain, com-
fort, connectivity and safety are quite
advanced and lend the new C with seg-
ment-best performance in multiple areas.
The new car is a great example of how
top-to-bottom technology transfer makes
it possible to make technology and its
benefits accessible to a wider spectrum of
the society. The C-Class has a distinct
The interior is well-designed and offers an airy feel to the cabin. Even the tiniest of touch-points exude quality
advantage as it draws a lot of tech from
the S-Class. That the C leverages expan-
sively on its larger siblings technology,
we were convinced of the new C-Class
being the most technically advanced car
in its segment, at least for now.

TExT: Arpit Mahendra

PhOTO: Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay

The touch interface reduces the need for the driver to take eyes off the road and the Burmester sound system Read this article on
offers brilliant sound quality along with an aesthetic design. www.autotechreview.com

autotechreview F eb r u ar y 2 0 1 5 Volu m e 4 | Issu e 2 63

DECODING TECHNOLOGY
SUSPENSION SYSTEMS DEFINING
VEHICLE CHARACTER
DR ARUN JAURA
Board of Directors,
SAE International
Suspension systems are the interface
between vehicle body and chassis, and
the road through the wheels. They define
the vehicle character through ride com-
fort, vehicle safety, ride and handling,
and ruggedness of vehicle. The system
provides relative motion between the
chassis and wheels as the vehicle moves
along the terrain. Suspension systems
mainly affect handling and braking for
real time safety and help deliver a pleas-
ing driving experience. They also have to
ensure occupants comfort and isolate
them from road noise. Suspension sys-
tems ensure that the wheels are in con-
tact with the road surface.
During vehicle design and develop-
ment, suspension tuning is important and
forms a critical part of vehicle perfor-
mance, and driving experience. A holisti-
cally designed system will consider per-
formance characteristics, chassis, centre
of gravity, front and back weight distribu-
tion, load carrying capacity, life of vehi-
cle, tyres, ride comfort and recyclability.
This has to be integrated in the initial
design and specification process, like any
64
other vehicle systems.
The anti-roll capability of a vehicle is
dependent on suspension design and
tuning. Vehicle safety during high
speeds, its ability to under-steer or over-
steer, its stability while braking is
dependent on suspension system and the
appropriate integrated tuning. Typical
parameters in suspension tuning are
camber angle, caster angle, centre of
gravity and roll centre, damping bump
and rebound, ride height, toe in/ toe out,
and the weight distribution while static/
corner weights.
TYPES OF SUSPENSIONS
Different suspension systems are used
depending on usability of vehicles and
target segments. Leaf springs and spring
suspensions have been around for long,
and earlier designs were for low speed
applications. Torque tubes were used in
the Model T. With the advent of automo-
biles and higher speeds, came the inno-
vative evolution of suspension systems.
The popular ones have served the test of
time. The current range of shock absorb-
ers and springs are mostly passive
systems.
Independent suspensions are
deployed in vehicles to ensure that
loads are not transferred to the opposite
wheel on the same axle during road
irregularities. It allows wheel camber to
be adjusted, or designed into the sus-
pension geometry. McPherson struts are
used in several front-wheel drive vehi-
cles. On rear-wheel drive vehicles, the
suspension allows for the external drive
shafts.
The active systems use electrical
dampers, rheological fluids or nano-parti-
cles in conventional fluids. The active sus-
pension systems have electronics and sen-
sors that provide real time inputs based
on road conditions and the vehicle load.
Damping is controlled through sensors
sending signals via closed loop feedback.
Some vehicles have a memory backup
that recognises the terrain and adjusts for
soft or hard ride. The electrically activated
dampers are low power consumption
devices to ensure power management
optimisation.
Adaptive air suspension offers many
advantages the vehicle suspension
height remains constant irrespective of
the load being carried. The adjustable
dampening characteristics and ride height
is standardised by the OEM in active sus-
pensions, for minimal adjustment by cus-
tomers. Some of the adaptive suspensions
are adjustable and have a wide program-
mable range for the vehicle owner.
With an emphasis on weight reduction
and fuel economy improvement, light-
weight components and springs are devel-
oped with higher structural rigidity and
robust designs. Though aluminium has
been used for lightweighting, composites
are being used in some applications.
These are mainly used in race cars today
but mass market commercialisation is
under development.
Suspension systems define the charac-
ter of a vehicle. For mass market applica-
tions, safety and high speed handling are
critical. A premier brand customer
demands many other features during
high speed driving from a vehicle which
only an integrated suspension can
deliver.
www.autotechreview.com
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