Fuel Injection Systems — Delivering Power & Efficiency

www.autotechreview.com November 2013 | Volume 2 | Issue 11 Now, Also available on

It’s on 16 Interview Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Operating Head — Sales & Marketing and Vice President, HMSI

20 STUDY Automobiles: Economic Outlook & Employment Situation

60 new Vehicle Nissan Terrano — More Than Mere Re-Badging

FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS —

DELIVERING POWER & EFFICIENCY Powered by

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SEEKING SYNERGIES

Dear Reader,

By the time this copy of Auto Tech Review reaches you, we would be taking the covers off our first event, the ‘India Battery Conclave 2013’. Our endeavour, like we had committed earlier, would be to try and contribute to the creation of a battery ecosystem in the country through thoughtful ideations and resolute deliberations; in an attempt at finding answers to the current challenges in the battery domain, and preparing for a future that offers myriad solutions.

While we hope the conclave would set in motion new thoughts in battery technology, some exciting developments have been made world over in recent times. Today, many of the solutions being talked about still seem like fantasies. Like the one by Dr Grigorii Soloveichik at GE Global Research, who is developing a new kind of water-based “flow” battery for electric vehicles that could help you commute between Mumbai and Hyderabad on a single charge! These batteries could even be 75 % cheaper than car batteries currently available in the market, and for electric vehicles, this could be a game changer.

Or would it be General Motors, who has talked about a form of lithium-ion technology containing nickel, cobalt, and manganese (NMC) – a combination it feels will produce more powerful and cheaper batteries than any other lithium-ion chemical composition? The Vorbeck Materials Corporation, meanwhile, in their research collaboration with Princeton University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is leading a development of graphene-based batteries, which could recharge in a matter of minutes.

For a market with unique requirements and demands, solutions acceptable in developed markets may not quite make practical sense in India. Hence, there is a much bigger need to undertake research work in the area of batteries, specific to the needs of the Indian industry. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 clearly talks about the need of a more systematic and collaborative approach in order to achieve the potential in the long-term through synergies across the government, industry and the academia.

The India Battery Conclave would address most of these issues, and strive to prepare an action roadmap for batteries in the country.

Deepangshu Dev Sarmah Editor-in-Chief New Delhi, November 2013

@deepangshu autotechreview.com November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 1 Cover Story fuel injection systems — delivering power & efficiency

24, 30, 36 | With the internal combustion engine expected to soldier on in the years to come, engineers are constantly trying to extract higher power and efficiency from each drop of fuel. Fuel injection is one of the key technologies to achieving this balance, when used individually or when combined with other technologies. With entry-level cars too featuring advanced versions of fuel injection, Auto Tech Review takes a look into the potential of future fuel injection systems.

guest commentary

12 Squaring The Circle: Driving Growth And Containing Cost SOMA SOMASUNDARAM, EVP, Product Development & R&D, Infor

INTERVIEW

14 “We Don’t Need Marketing Gimmicks to Sell Our Products” Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Operating Head – Sales & Marketing and Vice President, HMSI

2 Source: Denso contents

NEWS Cover Story SHOPFLOOR

4 Interactions 24 The New Denso Common Rail 56 Hella India Automotive — 10 News Diesel Solenoid Injector Putting Technology First Shuichi Matsumoto, Kenji Date, STUDY Tooru Taguchi, Olaf Erik Herrmann New vehicle 18 Automobiles: Economic Outlook And 30 High-Pressure Direct Injection Employment Situation Systems for Gasoline Engines 60 Nissan Terrano — More Than Axel Heinstein, Tilo Landenfeld, Mere Re-Badging Martin Riemer, Thomas Sebastian

36 Spray-Guided Direct Injection for DECODING TECHNOLOGY Boosted Gasoline Engines Jason King, Peter Feulner 64 Styling For Coefficient Of Drag Reduction Arun Jaura technology

42 The Traxon Modular others Transmission System Wilhelm Härdtle, Christoph Rüchardt, 01 Editorial Stephan Demmerer, Axel Mors 03 Imprint

48 Honda Sport Hybrid — Hastening Technology Adoption

event

50 DuPont India — Commited To Sustainable Mobility

Imprint

Editorial & Business Office: Editor-in-Chief: Deepangshu Dev Sarmah Publisher & Managing Director: Springer India Pvt Ltd [email protected] / @deepangshu Sanjiv Goswami 7th Floor | Vijaya Building | 17, Barakhamba Road Principal Correspondent: Arpit Mahendra For Editorial Contribution, write to the Editor-in-Chief at New Delhi – 110001 | India [email protected] / @arpitmahendra3 [email protected] + 91 11 4575 5888 (P) | +91 11 4575 5889 (F)

Senior Correspondent: Naveen Arul (Bangalore) For Advertisements, write to Deputy Manager – Ad Sales at Auto Tech Review (ATR) is a monthly magazine focussed on automotive technology, and appears 12 times a year. Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessar- [email protected] / @naveenarul [email protected] ily those of Springer India Pvt Ltd. No part of this magazine can be reproduced in any form, including photocopies and information retrieval systems, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Springer India Pvt Ltd Limited reserves the right to use the informa- Deputy Manager – Ad Sales: Sudeep Kumar For Subscription orders and reader registrations, tion published herein in any manner whatsoever. [email protected] please visit www.autotechreview.com Printed and Published by Sanjiv Goswami on behalf of Springer India Pvt Ltd. Printed at Gokul Offset, Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase – I, New Delhi and published at Springer India Design & Production: Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay Or, contact Deputy Manager – Ad Sales at Pvt Ltd, 7th Floor, Vijaya Building, 17, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi. [email protected] [email protected] ©2013, Auto Tech Review autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 3 INTERACTION continental, SUZUKI MOTORCYCLE INDIA

CONTINENTAL | LEADING CHANGES IN COMBUSTION STRATEGIES OF THE FUTURE

Amid all the talk about hybridisation and electro- formance solenoid injector for gasoline direct in- mobility gaining ground worldwide, diversified jection systems – that supports Euro 6c require- supplier Continental believes that by 2025, 95 % ments. The XL3, which is currently in volume proof the vehicles – spanning commercial, light com- duction for a four-cylinder, 1.5 l GDI engine, pro- mercial and passenger vehicles – will continue to vides enhanced linearity due to very fast opening have one or the other kind of combustion engine, and closing times. Depending on the geometry of while the remaining would be contributed by pure the combustion chamber, the injector would have electric vehicles. Having said that, in a decade seven to nine holes. This multi-stream spray ge- from now, all internal combustion (IC) engines ometry enables optimal adaptation to all engine- would be quite different from what we have cur- specific requirements. rently in the market. The objective is to take the pressure up to In a recent interaction with Auto Tech Review, 350 bar. “The standard pressure today is 150 Wolfgang Breuer, Executive Vice President, bar, and we will take it to 250 bar over the next Engine Systems, Continental said the company two years, and then to 350 bar,” Breuer said. It sees a lot of potential for both fuel consumption re- is important to avoid the formation of soot parti- duction and emission reduction in the near to long cles, which is influenced by opening and closing tor, one could achieve significant fuel saving to term. Every product designed and developed in his and also by the design of the nozzle or the spray the tune of 2 %. business unit, and the powertrain division in holes, he explained. The other critical aspect in improving com- general, is geared towards making mobility based On the diesel side, Continental would bring to bustion is related to downsizing of engines. We on the combustion engine cleaner, and sustainable. the market a new generation diesel system with have seen the gradual shift from six to four, and With stricter legislations being enforced piezo injectors. Breuer is a firm believer in the ad- now from four to three cylinders. At the same across markets – Euro VI-c in Europe that will vantage that piezo actuation will have on spray time, we are witnessing a movement from natu- kick in by 2014, and similar other legislations in formation, and with this on combustion and emis- rally-aspirated engines to turbocharged engines. markets like the United States and Japan – Conti- sion. In this new generation direct-driven piezo in- Globally, there is a clear trend even with premium nental, like all other suppliers, is engaged in jector, the piezo is linked directly to the needle manufacturers looking at downsized engines with design and development of components that and controls its movement – the opening and the turbocharging. Ford has taken the lead in this would help their customers meet these legisla- closing – in a very precise manner. A very precise respect with the introduction of the 1 l EcoBoost tions. The key challenge, Breuer said, “is the need injection pattern is generated that allows for real engine. Continental has supplied the turbocharg- to be cost-efficient, so as to ensure affordability benefit in terms of fuel consumption. Continental ers for the EcoBoost engine. of mobility.” Most of the growth in the industry is in the final stage of preparing the direct-driven would come from countries like India and China, piezo injector for serial production, and will be OUTLOOK where cost plays a defining role, he noted. launched next year. “Higher pressure on the diesel side means Breuer and his team at Continental work around FUTURE COMBUSTION ENGINES less fuel consumption, better spray formation, the objective of securing our future with clean and therefore utilising the energy of the fuel in a mobility that is based on a combustion engine. With IC engines slated to dominate vehicles of the much better manner for propulsion. Interestingly, There would be gradual shift towards hybridisa- near future, we asked Breuer what specific changes if we go to pressure above 2,500 bar, we see lower tion, but the numbers would continue to be small could be expected from a technology perspective. combustion pressure, which would also allow to for a long time to come. On that count, Continen- The primary change would be in the area of fuel in- think about lightweight concepts for the engine, tal is harping on the potential of implementing a jection systems, he said. While majority of the gas- and weight reduction overall,” Breuer said. 48 V system that would offer an ideal compromise oline engines today are either manifold or port in- Also on the horizon is the next generation between the current 12 V micro hybrid start-stop jection systems, the industry is gradually moving to servo injector that helps improve performance, systems, with very little possibilities for energy re- direct injection systems. DI systems would allow both with regards to needle control as well as cuperation, and the costly 120 V or 200 V systems. companies to get into higher fuel injection pres- leakage. With the next generation servo injector, In the Indian context, though, there isn’t much sure, say from the current 100-150 bar levels to leakage will be significantly reduced and there- demand for the latest hi-tech requirements. The 350 bar pressures in the future. “Higher pressures fore the efficiency in the hydraulic system will be company continues to work on conventional gaso- will help cut down on particulate emissions, but at much higher. “If you have a higher efficiency in line systems for all its customers in India. But the same time, we’ll also need to keep fuel con- the hydraulic system, you pump less fuel in order there is excitement building up, and that is the sumption under control,” he said. to generate the pressure and supply the injection confidence Continental drives home in. In mid-2013, Continental launched a new quantity. As a result, it helps you save more multi-hole gasoline injector – the XL3 high-per- fuel,” explained Breuer. Just based on the injec- text: Deepangshu Dev Sarmah

4 www.autotechreview.com SMIPL | STEADY APPROACH TOWARDS ALL-ROUND GROWTH

tive trend. This is so because the technology avail- Talking of differentiation and a unique identity able in scooters today is almost the same as in mo- for SMIPL products, Gupta said most companies torcycles. Fuel efficiency, which was once the key are pretty close to each other in almost all techni- performance differentiator, too is closer than ever. cal domains. What really makes a difference today Along with this, scooters can be used for multiple is the brand value and perception, since consum- purposes by a family, reasoned Gupta. ers no longer switch brands for small discounts. SMIPL doesn’t look at the slowing growth with This is primarily down to the customers maturing pessimism, primarily due to them being a rela- and understanding the value being offered in tively new player in the market. The company is return for the money. growing in every department of the business, in- The company also plans to increase its touch cluding products, production, and distribution. So points, which are presently about 600 across the while the segment’s growth is slowing, SMIPL is country. By the time SMIPL doubles its production gearing up for a significant growth phase over the capacity from the present levels, the touch points next couple of years. too will go up to 1,200, helping sales significantly.

Amid all the doom and gloom surrounding the ROADMAP REDESIGNED STRATEGY Indian automotive industry currently, one segment that has posted growth is two-wheelers. Given the Gupta told us that SMIPL is presently focusing on Responding to our question about the company’s market dynamics and the product offerings, two- expansion in three key areas – product portfolio, slow movement and if the progress up till now wheelers are a necessity buy for most, unlike cars production capacity and sales & service network. has been satisfactory, Gupta agreed the results and SUVs. And that augurs well for almost all The next 24 months or so are going to be very im- aren’t satisfactory completely. Part of this is due manufacturers in the market, including Suzuki portant as the company plans to double its per- to a wrong choice of products in the initial years. Motorcycle India Private Limited (SMIPL). The formance in multiple areas. The production ca- Although the company is six-years-old officially, company has been around in the Indian market pacity will go up from the present level of five it has seen positive movement only in the past for a while, but hasn’t made a bang yet. However, lakh to 10 lakh by the end of 2016. Sales in the four years or so, primarily because of a rede- all of that could change over the next 24 months, previous fiscal were 3.26 lakh units and the signed product-mix. “Things certainly could’ve as Atul Gupta, Executive Vice President, Sales & present year is expected to close a shade under been faster, but we also had capacity con- Marketing, SMIPL told us in a recent interaction. five lakh, since the capacity has reached five lakh straints,” he added. only in March, 2013. In times to come, the company will add new BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT The long-term plan for SMIPL is to get into the products to its portfolio, with a strong focus on top three category but any concrete plans on that the motorcycle segment. The first endeavour will The current blip notwithstanding, the two-wheeler would become clear only beyond 2015 or so, be to offer advanced technologies, which offer industry in India will continue to grow for another added Gupta. A clearer goal on the horizon for Indian consumers with the riding feel of the two decades or so, believes Gupta. He attributed SMIPL is to become the largest selling company larger motorcycles in smaller machines. The next this belief to the fact that the country’s for Suzuki global in the area of step will be to expand the scooter line-up and infrastructure isn’t growing at the desirable pace, two-wheelers. This could be as target consumers from segments, untapped till leading to multiple problems for cars and future early as 2016, by when the now. Further, the company will continue to technologies such as electric company would reach production upgrade its existing products in order to vehicles. The current level of capacity of 10 lakh units. improve the value offering. growth is likely to stabilise by These plans along with a continuous 2015 or so, he said, and should focus on increasing efficiency within continue to be sustainable thereon. the business will result in Suzuki Motor- “A host of global factors and cycle India emerging as a domestic issues such as company, which will reach out high fuel prices and to more people and will be interest rates have a much more significant resulted in the current situation,” player in the market, con- he said. cluded Gupta. Among two-wheelers, scooter sales have been on a rise, while motorcycles are presently seeing a nega- Text: Arpit Mahendra

autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 5 INTERACTION IBM, Comsol

IBM | RETHINKING THE CONVENTIONAL APPROACH

through the past years and will continue to be so. The PLM solutions used by IBM were jointly developed by IBM and Dassault Systèmes in Paris under a partnership that dates back to about 25 years. As automotive companies look endlessly at optimisation in the area of manufacturing, IBM plans to maintain its strength in the domain through constant evolution of its offerings. A new growth area, where IBM is spending its resources presently is sales & marketing. In terms of money spent, sales & marketing comes right after technology development and manufacturing for any automotive company, said Leveugle. Auto- motive companies presently hire thousands of employees in the sales channel directly or indirectly. The key to growth in markets such as India and China is to expand the sales reach beyond Tier I cities into smaller areas. Also, this expansion needs to be rapid for a company if it is to grow sustainably in these markets. IBM will help leverage digitalisation and IT, and also assist in finding newer ways of making the sales & marketing chain more efficient. Poised to be one of the largest automotive indus- hicles, Leveugle said that such applications An opportunity mentioned by him was the tries in the world, the Indian auto sector is in- require immense amount of data and also high proper use of analytics to gather data for people creasingly facing the pressure to ‘change’. The performance storage applications, which are a entering the car showrooms and using it further to speed of this change is amplified by the cyclical stronghold for IBM. market products. Leveugle also mentioned that and value-conscious demands of the Indian con- The Indian industry still isn’t as demanding as the automotive industry despite offering emotion- sumers. In such a scenario, companies need to markets like China, for instance, when it comes to al products doesn’t fare as good as the retail include a rapidly growing number of software, future mobility technologies despite high volumes. sector in this area. Citing Europe as an example, mechanical and electronic technologies. The That said, he mentioned that newer technologies he said that B2B buying (leasing, rental, company largest challenge crops up in the form of man- will certainly make their way into India, albeit at a cars) are increasing consistently. Owing to this in- aging and tracking these technologies and their slower pace than the western countries and crease, although the number of car buyers has output without any scope for an error. It is in China. The present need is to extensively test the reduced, the number of cars hasn’t. The implica- such areas that IBM’s automotive solutions come upcoming technologies and make their architec- tions of these could be huge for the automotive into play and to understand these offerings we ture scalable so that billions aren’t lost before a industry, he added. With the contract of a met Eric Leveugle, Vice President, Industrial worthy solution is derived. It is in such critical company car nearing expiration, not all users get Sector, IBM. areas that automotive companies can make good information pertaining to their next possible use of data services and analytics. Talking of a vehicle. If only the companies had all the data for IDEATING SOLUTIONS traffic management system for India, Leveugle their consumers in a structured manner, they said that it’s hard to design an effective solution could reach out to the right customer at the right The growing IT requirements of modern technolo- presently but with time, as more stakeholders time with the right product. Such sales activities gies demand a specialised approach by all com- start participating, such initiatives will find their could not only enhance the brand perception but panies. And that’s where IBM comes in. Leveugle way into the Indian mainstream. In all of these, also improve sales significantly. explained that IBM’s role for any industry, includ- IBM’s role would be more of a partner to OEMs or Such opportunities are what IBM is presently ing automotive, is to generate more and more suppliers, so as to enable the development and focusing on and will continue to work with auto- data and then to make this data usable. This data effective deployment of such services. motive companies towards improving convention- is used by various end-services of the companies al methods and processes, concluded Leveugle. to ensure their offerings are efficient and produc- GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES tive. Talking of a recent collaboration between Continental and IBM in the area of connected ve- PLM has been an important business area for IBM Text: Arpit Mahendra

6 www.autotechreview.com COMSOL | SIMULATION THROUGH MULTIPHYSICS

More than just selling a tool to carry out various However, Macintosh and Linux operating systems Electro-chemical battery modelling at the cell tasks, COMSOL, a leading simulation software will continue to be supported by JAVA technology. level, and heat management are two important provider, believes in selling new ideas and tech- The new COMSOL Multiphysics v4.4 will be offi- areas that are worked on, especially in India, nology to its customers. As a part of that cially launched in a few weeks. said Dravid. Thermal management of batteries is process, the company recently gave a preview of a very important aspect, since the ideal operat- the latest version of its flagship product – AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR ing temperature of batteries is around 35° C, COMSOL Mutiphysics v4.4 – during a conference while the ambient temperature of many cities is in Bangalore, where we caught up with Dr COMSOL credits a very small share of its revenue around 50° C. Svante Littmarck, President and CEO, COMSOL to the Indian automotive sector, and says that au- The batteries and fuel cells model, which is Inc (C) and Bjorn Sjodin, VP, Product Manage- tomotive parts suppliers, more than OEMs, are the an add-on available for COMSOL Multiphysics, ment, COMSOL Inc (R) as well as Dr Vineet major users of its product. Globally, the company allows users to create detailed models of the Dravid, Managing Director, COMSOL India (L) partners with various companies that have a electro-chemical reactions that take place in a for a better understanding of their offerings. strong presence in the automotive sector, includ- battery. These reactions are the basis for the The simulation software COMSOL offers cover ing the likes of Autodesk Inc, Dassault Systèmes, working of a battery, and are necessary to under- a large area of physics, thereby making it exclu- SolidWorks, MathWorks, PTC, and Siemens PLM. stand and avoid thermal runaway that causes sive in the market. Products can be tested under The main reason for low penetration into the batteries to catch fire, said Sjodin. He added many varying physical conditions, with a user- automotive industry is that engineers are usually that this model can be combined with thermal friendly interface, thereby bringing down the comfortable with tools they’ve been using for a and fluid-flow simulations, in order to manage product development cycle. The same version of long time, and are reluctant to switch to new the entire thermal problem. products is available globally, with a few add-ons ones. “Engineers are conservative, maybe more The ability to combine many areas of physics, and additional linkages available, according to so than any other profession, and we get a or multiphysics as COMSOL calls it, for simulation the specific requirements of certain users. chance when there’s a new project and the exist- purposes is the latest innovation of the company, The core package is called COMSOL Multiphys- ing tools don’t work,” said Littmarck. For in- said Sjodin. This innovation comes from the com- ics, with about 40 add-on products in different stance, batteries and fuel cells for EVs and HEVs pany’s experience of 15 to 20 years in the field of areas. Among these add-ons, about eight are are a multiphysics phenomenon, and that is typ- multiphysics simulation. This addition enables linked to CAD packages and two are general-pur- ically where the company has customers, he users to continuously evolve the workflow easily pose products for purposes such as optimisation. added. It offers technical support, hands-on and quickly through the UI, by coupling additional The company provides live links for MatLab and workshops, valuation licenses and proof of con- physical parameters without much extra work. MS Excel, which lets users to drive COMSOL mul- cepts to the automotive industry. Sjodin also said cross-disciplinary projects can be tiphysics simulations from Excel or Matlab, and run with the use of COMSOL, since it is very easy synchronically use them together. EV/ HEV-RELATED TOOLS to move from one area to another, while conduct- The biggest change to COMSOL Mutiphysics ing multiphysics simulations. v4.4 is in upgrading the complete user interface COMSOL feels the market in India for batteries (UI) to a Windows-based application. The new UI and fuel cells is no different from any other is based on .NET technology that is offered by country, especially with regards to research Windows, moving from the JAVA platform. carried out by battery, and EV manufacturers. Text: Naveen Arul

autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 7 INTERACTION KLÜBER

KLÜBER | GEARING UP FOR CHALLENGES IN ELECTROMOBILITY

issues can also drive the R&D process, either by driving it ahead or restricting it due to shortage. Besides the manufacturing plant and R&D facility in Mysore, Klüber India has one office in Ban- galore. The plant produces about 200 products, many of which also meet the lubrication needs for various industrial equipment applications.

SUSTAINED BUSINESS

Some of the interesting new products developed for the automotive industry by Klüber in recent times, include wheel hub bearing grease for three-wheelers, steering stem grease for two- wheelers, and CV slack-adjuster grease for trucks. For speciality lubrication producer, Klüber Lubri- South-East Asian countries. Pande said maintain- Another newly developed application is for the lu- cation India Pvt Ltd, electromobility offers some ing a balance between all the market segments brication of air conditioning knobs in passenger unique challenges. The company is not proac- helps the company cope with lower revenues from cars, so that the adjustments made to the air tively involved with electric vehicles or hybrids a certain segment, by making up through better conditioner are easy and noise-free. yet, but the one challenge it intends taking business from another one. Klüber does business with most Indian OEMs head-on in the years to come, is in the lubrica- and parts suppliers, including Maruti Suzuki tion of electric motors. FOCUS ON R&D India, Hyundai Motor India, Ford India, General Electric motors have bearings and produce a Motors India, Volkswagen India, Toyota Kirloskar lot of heat that needs to be lubricated appropri- The R&D centre at Mysore, near Bangalore, carries Motor, Tata Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra. ately, and that is where the challenge lies, said out R&D activities for all of Klüber products in Bosch, Johnson Controls, Delphi, Denso, Brembo, Hermann Siebert, Head, Marketing and Appli- India and South-East Asia. To maintain strict Suprajit Engineering, Aditya Industries, ZF and cation Engineering, Klüber Asia Pacific (R), and global standards, and to meet specific customer Inteva count among Klüber’s clients in the auto- Dinkar Pande, Head, Automotive and Bearing requirements, the company regularly invests in its motive components industry. BU, Klüber India (L) during a recent interaction. facility and production machinery, said Siebert. It “Klüber is in the business of providing spe- “This is a typical application, where Klüber can is always been Klüber’s strategy to have a devel- cialised lubrication products and treatments to provide solutions,” said Pande. opment facility closer to the customer, so that new components within a vehicle, which result in low Interestingly, Klüber is involved with BMW’s solutions that are required can be understood, friction, low NVH levels and longevity of the com- electric vehicle programme, lubricating the bear- and delivered easily and quickly. ponents themselves,” said Pande. The products ings that have gone into the i3 and i8 models. For Klüber, India is an important market that offered by Klüber help OEMs and part suppliers The Munich-headquartered company also offers is in need of speciality lubricants. Major invest- adhere to the NVH standards set by the industry. lubrication solutions for sockets, which owing to ments are being made on equipment used for The lubrication provided by Klüber for various their very nature, is liable to fail without appro- testing newly developed products. This is very components lasts for the complete lifetime of the priate lubrication. crucial for the company, said Siebert and Pande product, said Siebert. “Our products need to be On the domestic front, Pande said the unanimously, adding, “We need advanced equip- capable of working at extreme temperatures, and company would continue to provide tribological ment to test parameters like low friction, behav- in dusty conditions, since these components may solutions for all automotive segments. While pro- iour at low and high temperatures, compatibility, be put to use in various regions. Our products duction and sales of automobiles in India has NLGI consistency, and others.” need to be neutral towards plastics so that the witnessed a slide in the past few months, Klüber Decisions with regards to R&D are taken on materials do not react in any unwanted way,” he has continued to post growth. Pande is counting two bases – know-how and availability of raw explained. Noise and vibration damping, good on the immense scope the passenger car materials. The company believes that knowledge surface adhesion, and possessing a neutral smell segment offers in India. and resources found locally will make it easier to are some of the other critical requirements. The automotive industry contributes 20-22 % judge a problem at that location, and find suita- of the company’s total revenues in India, with only ble solutions faster. These solutions can then be a tenth of that coming from OEMs, while suppliers passed on to the headquarters in Munich, and can contribute the remaining 90 %. Of the products be deployed in other locations as well. The raw manufactured in India, 30 % is exported to other materials needed in providing solutions for certain Text: Naveen Arul

8 www.autotechreview.com

News MISCELLANEOUS

TECHNOLOGY | VOLVO DEVELOPS LIGHTER, DENSER ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM

The Volvo Car Group has developed lightweight The material used consisted of a combina- and then cured in an oven to set and harden, structural energy storage components that could tion of carbon fibres and a polymer resin, creat- and the super capacitors are integrated within potentially improve the energy usage of electri- ing an advanced nanomaterial and structural the component skin. Finally, this material can fied vehicles in future. The system is a result of super capacitors. The rein- then be used around the vehicle, replacing exist- about 3.5 years of research to find a so- forced carbon fibres ing components, to store and charge energy. lution to the heavyweight, large di- sandwich the new This new material can be recharged by brake mensions and high cost of batteries energy regeneration in the car, or by plugging the seen in EVs and HEVs. According to car into an electrical socket. The research showed company claims, the goals have been that the material is faster in charging achieved without sacrificing the ca- and storage of energy than conven- pacity and performance of the batter- tional batteries as well. Volvo ies. The material used in these compo- evaluated this technology by nents offers lighter energy storage that re- creating a boot lid and a quires lesser space in the car. These materials plenum cover for testing and can provide cost effective structure options and development, within the Volvo S80. can be eco-friendly as well. The boot lid and the plenum cover are sig- The research was carried out as part of an nificantly lighter than standard parts, EU-funded project, which included nine other which saves on both volume and weight, major participants, with Volvo Car Group being battery, and are moulded and formed thereby increasing efficiency. Volvo believes that only car manufacturer. This concept has now been to fit around the car’s frame, like door panels, the complete substitution of an electric car’s exist- realised in the form of car panels within a Volvo boot lid and wheel bowl, saving on space. The ing components with the new material could cut S80 experimental car. carbon fibre laminate is first layered, shaped the overall weight by more than 15 %.

ADVANCEMENT | MERCEDES-BENZ DEVELOPS LIGHTER BODYSHELL FOR NEW C-CLASS

Mercedes-Benz has developed a bodyshell made Each and every part of the bodyshell has been concept lies a high-strength safety passenger com- from a combination of aluminium, hot-formed steel redesigned as well apart from replacing steel with partment, which consists of high and ultra-high- parts and ultra-high-strength steels for its upcom- aluminium. This was taken into account so that strength sheet steel and panels with graduated ing generation of C-Class, in order to reduce specifications like rigidity from the suspension to wall thicknesses designed to withstand specific weight, while maintaining rigidity. The materials the body, optimum tyre noise and lower NVH levels local stresses. They are surrounded by specifically used in the new bodyshell are an unusual combina- were adhered to, besides reduction in weight. De- calculated deformation zones, which have been ex- tion for mass-produced vehicles, the company said. signers also made use of the design flexibility tensively field-tested. These optimised dissipation This lightweight construction cuts the car’s gross offered by die-cast aluminium, when compared paths, combined with aluminium and ultra-high- weight by about 100 kg from the preceding model, with steel. They managed to integrate various strength construction materials, achieve outstand- resulting in up to 20 % lower fuel consumption components in a single die-cast component, ing crash test results and guarantee safety for oc- without loss in power. The low weight construction which would otherwise be made up of several cupants, according to Mercedes-Benz. has not compromised on characteristics of rigidity steel components, resulting in the body consisting such as handling, optimum noise & vibrations, and of nine large cast components. All shock absorb- high crash safety, the company has claimed. ers too are mounted on rigid aluminium die- The usage of aluminium, hot-formed steel parts cast components. and ultra-high-strength steel for the bodyshell have The body has been designed for increased to 48 %, 8 % and 4 %, up from the high crash safety, meeting all earlier quantities of 9 % aluminium, and 3 % each current national laws, as of hot-formed steel parts and ultra-high-strength well as rating and safety steels. Typically the complete outer skin, which in- requirements of Mer- cludes the front wings, bonnet, boot lid, doors and cedes-Benz, which are the roof panelling, has been made of sheet alumin- based on actual acci- ium, which helps reduce the weight further. dents. At the core of this

10 www.autotechreview.com SUPPLY CONTRACT | ‘LAFERRARI’ GETS TRW STEERING FORD | PROTOTYPES of advanced vehicle The first Ferrari car to feature hybrid propulsion architecture will sport TRW’s Electrically Powered features DEVELOPED Hydraulic Steering (EPHS). The EPHS system is claimed to offer fuel savings of up to 0.3 l/ 100 km in addition to a carbon emission reduction of Ford Motor Company recently showcased a technol- about 7g/km in comparison to a conventional hy- ogy that enables drivers to park their car at the draulic steering system. TRW claims that even touch of a button, either from inside or outside the when compared to full electric solutions, EPHS vehicle. The company has also developed a proto- provides fuel and emission benefits. type, which combines automatic steering and The EPHS features a compact Motor Pump Unit braking in order to avoid collisions with vehicles or (MPU), connected to a conventional rack and pedestrians. Developments were made to existing pinion gear. Another benefit outlined by the technologies such as Active Park Assist and Ford company includes advanced speed proportional PowerShift transmission to prepare a Ford Focus technology. Under this technology, the system’s equipped with the prototype parking aid system. flexible tuning ability enables the system to adapt The system’s design and its calibration were to changing driving conditions. This translates demand for more efficient cars across all vehicle carried out by Ford’s Research & Advanced Engi- into a comfortable operation during parking and segments. “TRW’s role as the official partner for neering Division. The fully assisted parking system city driving along with a dynamic feel at higher technological innovation on the new ‘LaFerrari’ can be operated from the outside of the car by speeds. The system can also offer varying assist super car demonstrates our ability to support means of a remote control, which operates steering, levels, based on the load information provided by one of the most prestigious brands in the world,” gear selection and forward and reverse motion. the secondary systems of the vehicle. he said. TRW has sold over 20 mn EPHS systems Another feature that was revealed on the Focus Giorgio Marsiaj, President, TRW Italy said the till date for conventional as well as hybrid was the technology of avoiding obstacles, which EPHS technology is well suited to meet the vehicle platforms. warns of slow-moving objects, stationary obstacles or pedestrians in the lane ahead. The system automatically steers and brakes the car to avoid a colli- sion, in case the driver fails to steer or apply brakes LAND ROVER | NEW RANGE eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. Owing to even after an audible warning. ROVER SPORT LAUNCHED numerous optimisation measures, both engines The future for Ford is in developing innovative offer increased power output against their earlier products and technologies, including Fully Assisted IN INDIA versions. The price for the top end Autobiography Parking Aid and Obstacle Avoidance, said Barb Sa- variant is pegged at ` 1.66 cr, ex-showroom, mardzich, Vice President, Product Development, Mumbai. In line with its dynamic positioning, the Europe, Ford. Experts at Ford see increasing con- Range Rover Sport features adaptive dynamics. sumer demand worldwide for technology and fea- This system is claimed to provide an optimum tures that make life easier and safer. Sheryl Con- balance of ride and control by varying damper set- nelly, Manager, Ford Global Trends and Futuring tings infinitely between soft and firm extremes. noted that customers are laying emphasis on own- Other features on offer include torque vectoring ership experience, seamless connectivity, and on system, terrain response system, and dynamic re- trends, features and services of the future. sponse system that enable independent control of front and rear axles, leading to better handling over varied terrains. The interior too has been rede- Land Rover recently launched the next generation signed to offer more storage space through a larger Range Rover Sport in India, at prices starting ` glove box and central armrest storage. In addition, 1.09 cr, ex-showroom, Mumbai. This is the first new front seats and increased legroom and shoul- vehicle in its segment to feature an all-aluminium der room at the rear have been incorporated to offer body structure, with its platform being 39 % lighter enhanced comfort. than its predecessor. The Range Rover Sport will be Rohit Suri, Vice President, Jaguar & Land available with two powertrain options – a 288 hp 3 Rover India said superior technologies of the l V6 turbodiesel engine, and a 503 hp 5 l V8 super- engines in the Range Rover Sport provide better charged petrol engine. The peak torque figures of fuel efficiency. Also, new exterior lines, and inte- the diesel and petrol variants are 600 Nm and 625 riors add to the comfort and luxury that is ex- Nm respectively, and both variants are mated to an pected from Land Rover.

autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 11 Guest commentary

SOMA SOMASUNDARAM EVP, Product Development & R&D, Infor

SQUARING THE CIRCLE: DRIVING GROWTH AND CONTAINING COST

The automotive industry continues to face one of the most de- Customers now demand highly customised vehicles, deliv- manding market contexts. Although the prospects for growth are ered in shorter times, equipped with cutting edge in-vehicle huge in emerging economies, automakers and their suppliers are technologies. This is a dominant trend in the market: Fiat suffering from aggressive competition, shrinking traditional mar- claims over 500,000 add-on options for one model alone (the kets, increasing production costs and chronic overcapacity. Fiat 500) and BMW has identified that the average Mini buyer Data shows the significant impact of the 2008-2009 crisis, will spend – on an average – £ 1,700 (approximately ` 170,000) with consumers reining in spending on big ticket items such as on personalisation. cars, resulting in a significant reduction in revenues and profit In addition, in recent years there has been a significant in- margins. Over the past few years, automotive manufacturers crease in the amount of electronics and, more recently, software have managed to bring their profit back to pre-crisis levels, al- used in cars. The role of IT in automotive is therefore expanding though still operating in a smaller, uncertain market. from mere business support to product innovation. The results of a recent, global IDC Manufacturing Insights survey [1] suggests that – faced with this tighter, more aggressive market – automotive manufacturers are looking to implement a NEW STRATEGIES well-balanced strategy that combines cost containment with growth opportunities. To drive growth, automakers are looking at However, it is clear that the automotive sector has learnt the les- investment in product innovation, with 80 % looking to stimu- sons of a sensitive market and cost containment. The second late markets with new offerings. Product innovation plays an es- most important strategy for automotive manufacturers is lower- sential role to ensure competitive differentiation. ing product prices showing that automakers and Tier I suppliers

12 www.autotechreview.com know that to win shares in a smaller, hyper-competitive market, alike want greater visibility and intelligence of information, in- they also need product prices to be low. side the business and along the value chain. This has led these businesses to look outside the four walls of their enterprise as they search for ways to lower cost sourcing. Automotive manufacturers want to reduce the number of suppli- REDUCING ‘IT’ COMPLEXITY ers, source components from lower-cost regions, and outsource manufacturing facilities forenoon-critical components. Nearly 65 % of automotive manufacturers recognise that the IT This is all set against a backdrop of increasing complexity. systems they have in place are ineffective or inadequate to sup- More than 70 % of companies in the automotive industry expect port the fast decision making that is required in today’s complex the level of complexity to increase or significantly increase over business environment. The key reason is that the information the next three years. No company expects less complexity in the needed to make important decisions is stored in too many differ- future. In order to drive growth, and contain cost in this context ent IT systems. Looking along the supply chain, companies in of complexity, IDC Manufacturing Insights predicts that, over the the automotive industry feel the pressure of not having adequate next three years, automotive manufacturers around the world integration and data sharing with partners along the value chain. will undertake a number of critical business initiatives: Many organisations are not fully satisfied with their ERP. :: Improve demand planning and forecasting — As they look Nearly 60 % of automotive respondents acknowledge that their to serve new, emerging and narrower market segments, auto- ERP does not offer any collaborative feature and they point to motive manufacturers have to cope with a great deal of this as the major ERP limitation to achieving faster decision mak- demand variability. They also need to understand the specific ing. Over the coming years, more than 80 % of automotive re- characteristics of high-growth markets and will have to look spondents want their ERP to be able to streamline business pro- at new demand drivers such as urban density, lifestyle, and cesses, improve collaboration and support them in achieving op- personal income. This highlights the inadequacy of current erational excellence. demand forecasting techniques that are primarily based on IDC Manufacturing Insights identifies four IT forces – cloud past sales projections. computing, social business, mobility, and Big Data analytics – :: Supply chain planning — It is essential for automakers’ that will enable this change in IT; forces that will find fertile competitiveness to develop the capability to respond quickly ground in the automotive industry as more than 90 % of re- to unexpected changes to their latest forecast plans. The spondents believed that the four IT forces will change the way need to plan better is amplified by the challenge of control- they work in the near future. More than 35 % believe these ling complex supply chains, ensuring the availability of the changes will be absolute. right component at the right plant at the right time. This Such strong interest, amidst such a chaotic market means issue is further exacerbated as supply chains are elongated that many automotive organisations will make foundational in- by the need for manufacturers to set-up new production vestments in these technologies to improve the value of their IT plants closer to end markets. systems, and in particular, their ERP. :: Improve manufacturing operations — Excess production capacity, accumulation of inventory and work-in-progress, References: poor quality, and high production costs characterise the [1] IDC Manufacturing Insights In Pursuit of Operational Excellence: Acceler- ating Business Change Through Next-Generation ERP (IDC #IDCWP47T) automotive industry today, creating a serious profitability 2012. 378 interviews were carried out across the automotive, aerospace, in- issue. Automotive manufacturers are taking this issue very dustrial machinery, and high-tech industries in United States, UK, France, seriously and are going back to their manufacturing roots, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Australia, China, India, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, putting a renewed emphasis on production knowledge and UAE, and Russia. operational excellence. In order to do this, automotive manufacturers understand that they need to overcome the current fragmentation and lack of col- Read this article on laboration afforded by their IT. Automakers and Tier I suppliers www.autotechreview.com automotiveGet your dose of

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autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 13 Inhouse Horizontal Strip-1.indd 1 30-12-2011 01:57:48 interview HMSI

“WE DON’T NEED MARKETING GIMMICKS TO SELL OUR PRODUCTS”

In a sluggish market, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has had phenomenal success. In September 2013, HMSI posted a YoY growth of 35 % and also posted its highest ever domestic sales. Precisely the reason why the company believes it might be the market leaders sooner than initially expected. We caught up with Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Operating Head – Sales & Marketing and Vice President, to understand the real picture behind this rapid growth.

Yadvinder Singh Guleria has over two decades of experience in the ing India-specific customer requirements to the international R&D automotive industry, starting his career with Yamaha as a Graduate team for developing new models. After a brief stint in Polaris India Engineer Trainee. He went on to become the company’s youngest Pvt Ltd, in 2011, he came back to Honda in 2012, and since then sales manager for the south and west markets. In 1998, he moved has played a key role in launching new products, including the very to Hindustan Motors and then moved to Honda in 2000, as one of successful Dream Yuga. In his free time, Guleria enjoys watching F1 the founding core members. At Honda, he was responsible for shar- races, playing flute or doing pencil sketches with his two daughters.

14 www.autotechreview.com ATR _ HMSI has had a sustained run of with the minimal support price is products in the scooter segment. healthy growth in the past few months. expected to be better than the previous In the motorcycle segment, we recently How long do you see this momentum year. A key information we got from our launched the Dream series, which we’ll continuing? sources is that the cultivable land too has continue to innovate and refresh. Also, YS Guleria _ We still have a long way increased in the last couple of years. All there are now clear trends of the owner- to go; be it in terms of marketshare or these factors should improve the customer ship period getting shorter in India. This capacity expansion. Our next capacity sentiment and lead to increased footfalls is because of more customers opting for expansion target is to reach 4.6 mn units in the showrooms. The present segment- upgrades, primarily influenced by new per annum. In relation to this figure our wise break-up for us is about 53 % from technology and increased spending power. target for this year is only 3.93 mn, scooters and rest from motorcycles. Also, with passing time, optional features thereby leaving us with enough growth turn into needs. Alloy wheels, for potential for our immediate target. In You now have three plants and are looking instance, accounted for about 20 % of the addition, despite our efforts to consist- at a fourth one. How soon can we expect sales when launched. That has gone up to ently increase capacity, we’re facing a that to come up? almost 90 % of motorcycles today. The backlog of orders, especially in scooters, Our first goal is to achieve the targeted 4.6 key lies in reading the requirements of the which combined account for a backlog of mn capacity from our existing three consumer and quickly reacting to them. more than 100,000 units presently. plants. We’re presently conducting feasi- We’ve been working hard on this and you Despite the fact that lately there have bility studies for the fourth plant, and any can expect to see a mix of new and been many new launches in the scooter decision based on those findings will be refreshed products in the times to come. segment, customers continue to wait for announced at the right time. our products. These factors give us good What role is the technical centre expected reason to believe that our growth momen- What can we expect to see at the Auto to play in the growth of HMSI? tum will continue in the long-term. Expo? Please tell us about your upcoming The Indian technical centre will help us in product plans and mix. many ways as we continue to install the Do you see any untapped growth opportu- There are a lot of expectations from us latest equipment there. First, it will help nities/ challenges in the present scenario? and you can look forward to seeing some- us enhance the skill and knowledge of the The challenge for us right now is to main- thing entirely new at the show. In respect Indian employees as they learn working tain our leadership position in the scooter to product mix, an ideal situation for us on technologies directly from the Japa- segment and strengthen it further. We also would be a 50:50 split between scooters nese experts. Owing to these enhanced have a long way to go in terms of penetra- and motorcycles. In order to retain our skills, our product development cycle will tion in the motorcycle segment. That we leadership in the scooter segment, we shorten, allowing us to react more quickly command 50 % marketshare in the need to innovate further. In line with this to changing or upcoming trends. In the scooter segment and just 14 % in the idea, we recently launched the Activa-i, times to come, customers will find us motorcycle segment, speaks well of the which is a personal compact scooter and responding even quicker to their needs growth opportunity underlying for us. with it we were able to create a new seg- and preferences. With the launch of the Dream Yuga and ment. We’ll continue to launch such new The next step for the technical centre Neo, we have got good response from the customers, which further encourages us to expand our foothold in the segment. A key requirement for this is penetration in the rural market, which we’re already working on and will help us reach out to more consumers. This in turn could add significant volumes for us.

In recent times though, motorcycles have been witnessing weakening demand. How has that affected your motorcycle plans? Also, what’s the present break-up for HMSI in these segments? From an industry perspective, this holds true as motorcycles haven’t grown but from HMSI’s perspective, we’re sure that we will continue to expand our position in the segment along with scooters. Given the agricultural nature of our economy, things look positive right now since we’ve had a good monsoon and the yield along An all-new locally designed and developed product should be launched in about two years autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 15 interview HMSI

products are known in India and globally for offering reliability and peace of mind, which is more important than warranty. The most important fact is that the number of customers who avail the warranty is only between 1 % and 2 %. Our offerings are for each and every consumer in the form of better efficiency and durability. Another key differentiator is that HMSI products come with a viscous air filter, which reduces the maintenance cost for our consumer. This filter needs no service and is replaced only after 16,000 km, unlike other filters, which need to be changed every 4,000 km or so.

Going forward, what will be the progress in your network expansion? We’ll be the fastest and to my knowledge, never in India, has any company added to its network at the pace that we have. Close to 500 touch points were added in Guleria said HMSI is committed to delivering the best technology on all known parameters the last year alone and this year too we’ll repeat a similar performance. We still is to be able to develop a new model right those down to production models. have some work to do in this area, since from the drawing board. That, when ful- The basic needs of an Indian customer we have only about 40 % of the network filled, will be a great achievement for the are fuel-efficiency, low-cost of mainte- that the top player has presently. Our tar- facility. Another aspect, where the techni- nance and a low purchase cost. Every get is to have over 5,000 touch points in cal centre is contributing significantly is company needs to deliver on these param- about three years in order to fairly cover local sourcing. The teams at the centre are eters and so do we without any compro- the length and breadth of this country. helping suppliers with improving their mises. Our endeavour is to deliver higher technology as well as production pro- technology within all key parameters. For Where does HMSI stack up for Honda cesses. These factors in turn will lead to example, HET was recently introduced as globally in terms of volume contribution quality at par with global levels and in an umbrella of efficiency technologies. For and is it the largest market? turn help us to get increased share of scooters it included lightweighting, HMSI presently accounts for about 18 % global Honda business in export markets. enhanced durability and optimised com- of the global volumes for Honda and by Hence, we’ll continue to be the leader in bustion among other changes. For motor- the end of this year we expect to be close terms of technology and innovation. cycles, HET included a nickel-coated to 22 % or so. The vision for HMSI is to spark plug and new profiles for the cylin- contribute 30 % to Honda globally by When do we see this product and what der head and piston. 2020. We’re presently the second largest segment would this be? We were also the first company to market for Honda, behind Indonesia, but In about two years a brand new product launch combined braking system (CBS), we’re chasing the top spot there as well developed by the technical centre from which increases safety significantly. and aren’t too far behind. scratch should be ready. However, I won’t Hence, while the inside story for various be able to divulge any further details of products could be different, the end result To sum it up, has all this growth along the product at this stage. for the consumer would be increased ben- with the discussed plans shortened your efits. In the future, we plan to launch the timeline for claiming the top sales spot in How do you see people in India relating to HET technology across our products in a India? HMSI products in terms of technology and phased manner, while educating the con- Our target still stays 2020, and we had what will be the differentiator? sumer of the system’s benefits. communicated earlier that if the industry For us it won’t be any single parameter, stays flat and we continue to maintain our such as efficiency. It is about selecting the One of your competitors offers a five-year sales momentum, this timeline may get right technology according to local needs, warranty on its products. Does that affect shortened. since globally Honda already has a strong your technical image to any extent? technical portfolio. Being the Moto GP From our point of view these are market- champions we are already in the process ing gimmicks and for us the overall cost of testing new technologies in an extreme of ownership is more important to offer INTERVIEW: Arpit Mahendra racing environment and then trickling and educate the customer about. Honda PHOTO: Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay

16 www.autotechreview.com Spark Minda_ATR_Sep'13.indd 1 26-08-2013 14:25:53 STUDY ECONOMY & EMPLOYMENT

AUTOMOBILES: ECONOMIC OUTLOOK AND EMPLOYMENT SITUATION

This PwC study provides a brief review of the changes now underway in both developed (US, Germany and Ja- pan) and developing automotive markets (Brazil, Thailand) along with a brief review of the contributions by the auto industry to the national economies in these select countries. It also outlines the changes taking place in the Indian industry and the remedial actions needed to meet employment needs of the Indian auto industry in future. With permission from the authors, we bring to you an abridged version of the study, focussing on the US, Brazil and Indian markets.

East 6.5 % Europe

European 11.4 % Union

North 12.3 % America Developing 62.2 % Asia-Pacific

Developed -4.1 % Asia-Pacific 8.1 % South America Middle East & 3.6 % Africa

1 Regional Contribution to Growth, 2012-2019 (percentage share) Source: Autofacts

GLOBAL SITUATION Pacific (less than 859,000) is expected to mn plateau for the first time ever, reach- witness continued decline as assembly is ing 101 mn units in 2017 with an impres- Through the first half of 2013, globally, localised abroad 1. Meanwhile, the world sive compound annual growth rate the automotive industry has provided has been forced to wait for the European (CAGR) of 5.02 %. mixed signals, with significant invest- Union (less than 500,000) to make its Ever since the global economic crisis ments announced in some markets being long-awaited rebound, not expected until of 2008-2009, the auto industry, globally countered by on-going cuts in others. early 2014, at best. Long-term projections has witnessed economic restructuring While regions such as the developing expect these markets to stabilise and with whose macro and micro-economic impli- Asia-Pacific (2.24 mn and more) and continued investment in developing cations on nations and regions has been North America (770,000 and more) have regions, they are forecast to drive annual profound. There are several short- and contributed heavily, the developed Asia- global light vehicle assembly past the 100 long-term factors that contributed to the

18 www.autotechreview.com crisis. While the sudden collapse of sales anticipated, Autofacts still believes sales (BLS) numbers show motor vehicle and in several markets was a short-term (one- will settle in the range of 16 to 17 mn for parts manufacturing employment to be at to two-year timeframe) challenge for the remainder of the decade. its highest point in over four years, almost all automakers, loss of market- US consumers are also continuing to reaching 789,800 in March 2013 [4]. share to increasing competition in their downsize their vehicles as high gas prices domestic markets was another key chal- and rising MSRPs make smaller cars fis- lenge for automakers over the long term cally attractive on both fronts. Engines are Trade Balance (five to seven years). also downsizing as consumers are finding Challenges faced by global automakers the same performance and higher MPGs Apart from production and sales, exports currently include the following: in smaller displacement engines. Trans- have also propelled the industry in the US o Labour costs for workforce, both cur- missions are growing, however, as eight-, 2. Exports of motor vehicles and parts rent and retirees including wages, nine-, and 10-speed gearboxes are grew at more than 10 % from 2011 to an health insurance and pensions (retir- equipped and are further set to improve all-time high of $ 132.7 bn in 2012 (on ees), drop in industrial productivity the fuel economy. Even luxury carmakers, NAICS basis) [5]. According to the US due to lack of capital investment, who have long pushed larger vehicles, are Department of Commerce’s 2012 report on ambiguous and dated labour laws, beginning to go small in the US. international trade, the auto industry is o Product quality issues due to faulty one of the leading exporters [6]. component parts, etc. o Share-diminishing competition on new Economic Contribution cars, mismatch in existing product Market Outlook strategy for a market, i.e. presence Not since the early 1970s has the auto only in a few segments of the market industry seen the levels of growth it has Despite nebulous macroeconomic condi- or region, recently experienced – three straight tions as a whole, the auto industry contin- o Lack of R&D improvisations in existing years of at least 10 % increases in y-o-y ues to outperform and is helping drive an and the future product, sales [1]. That is especially good news for outsized portion of overall economic o Ageing of population and its impact on a country, where one in every 17 private- growth. Economic performance is antici- demand for new cars, sector job is dependent on the auto pated to remain constrained through the o Environmental concerns such as industry [2]. While the automotive remainder of 2013, before gaining global warming, climate change industry represents three to 3.5 % of the momentum in 2014 to support continued and sustainability, both positive or nation’s GDP, their outsized impact growth in new vehicle demand. negative depending on how these reverberates across the country. Last year, Sales growth is expected to remain are addressed, a report by a leading global financial strong throughout the second half of 2013 o Slowdown in demand due to develop- services company found that nearly one- despite slow economic indicators. Strong ment of mass transit or alternative third of the country's entire economic product launches, historically low financ- form of travel models in several new growth was connected to auto sales [3]. ing rates and an average fleet age now urban areas. These urban transport Preliminary Bureau of Labour Statistics pushing 11 years should all help sustain systems are likely to change the way people commute in the future.

$ 140

UNITED STATES: Total Imports THE CURRENT STATE $ 120

The US sales and North American assem- $ 100 bly markets continue to enjoy a renais- sance of sorts, with numbers approaching $ 80 Total Exports pre-recession levels. The demand for new vehicles in the US is leading the way; with $ 60 a combination of an aged fleet, new models, and attractive financing. The US econ- Imports from Mexico omy continues to be a headwind, but has $ 40 yet to slow down demand. The US sales market continues to $ 20 recover from its recessionary lows and is Exports from Mexico forecast to reach 15.5 mn units in 2013, $ 0 the first time the market will have 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 eclipsed the 15 mn mark since 2007. While sales have rebound faster than 2 US: Trade in automotive parts, 2002-2012 (USD billions) Source: US Census Bureau autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 19 STUDY ECONOMY & EMPLOYMENT

100% market globally. However, five months of the year. While any this growth has drawn quantifiable impact of recent demon- attention to the weakness strations and riots remains to be seen,

80% of its local assembly as sales will likely pull back, suggesting a evidenced by increasing full-year growth rate of just under 4 %. reliance on imports to 60% meet demand. From 2005 to 2011, the market INDIA: THE CURRENT STATE averaged 12 % annual growth, while imports The market performance in India during 40% witnessed a staggering 2009 and 2010 was underpinned by nat- growth of 46 % annual ural demand driven by the country’s growth rate. By 2011, economic performance, growing middle 20% imports represented nearly class and low levels of vehicle owner- 26 % domestic sales. ship. Lower levels of economic growth, First effects of the combined with rising petrol prices and 0% financial crisis were felt high interest rates have created strong 2005 2006 2007 2008 200920102011 2012 2013 during the contraction of headwinds for the Indian vehicle mar- Domestic Auto Domestic Light Truck the economy in the begin- ket, and volatility in petrol and diesel Import Auto Import Light Truck ning of 2012. To revive the prices has added to uncertainty in the 3 Brazil: Light vehicle sales by source and segment, 2005-2013 economy and stimulate buying decision. YTD (percentage share) consumption, the Brazil- The increase in excise duty on utility Source: ANFAVEA ian government adopted a vehicles put a further body blow on the package of measures for growing SUV segment. As a result, the this increase. The full-year US sales fig- few sectors, including the automotive Indian passenger vehicle market has ures are expected to be around 15.5 mn, a sector known for its dynamic effects on fallen consecutively month over month 7.6 % increase from 2012. the other sectors of the economy. between April and July. Block closures A key regional manufacturing trend After the introduction of several have become a regular feature as car- that has piqued industry interest is the different versions of the Inovar Auto makers contend with the rapid slowdown ‘three-crew’ or the ‘3-2-120’ shift pattern legislation and negotiations with industry in the demand for cars. Several automak- implemented at select D3 plants to help participants, the Brazilian government ers are now periodically reducing pro- meet excess demand. This work routine passed a decree in October 2012, paving duction schedules to better align produc- has three crews working two shifts at 10 the way for Inovar policy to take effect tion with demand. hours for six days a week. These shifts from 2013 onwards. The long-term outlook for the Indian allow plants to produce more vehicles market has also been revised as it is clear without reducing downtime for higher uti- that India still faces significant hurdles on lisation and efficiency. Market Outlook the road to greater levels of motorisation, Another key trend that continues to likely to be resolved over a longer 10- to be monitored is the increased localisa- Brazil’s light vehicle production is on pace 20-year planning horizon. tion of vehicle assembly within North for record levels, with the first half of 2013 America. This is primarily being driven far outpacing the sluggish pace of 2012 3. by Asian OEMs looking to reduce the Full-year assembly is expected to reach Economic Contribution risk of currency volatility. European 3.4 mn units for 2013, with growth con- manufacturers are seen to be seeking a tinuing at a more modest pace of 3.5 % in With 6.7 % contribution to India’s GDP, more stable (and growing) environment. 2014. In the mid-term, South America as a the automobile industry is one of the key Most of the forecast growth in North whole is expected to hit the five mn mark manufacturing sectors in India. India is America will be due to these new plants in 2015, but short-term production stabil- currently the sixth largest passenger car coming online. Given sustained sales ity in the region remains heavily depend- producer in the world with an annual growth and positive results in the ent on when civil unrest in Brazil sub- turnover of around $ 55 bn in FY 2013 region, the assembly now is anticipated sides, especially with the World Cup and and employs around 18.5 mn people to reach 16.1 mn units for 2013. Olympics on the horizon. (directly and indirectly). New light vehicle registrations in Brazil reached 1.35 mn units between BRAZIL: THE CURRENT STATE January and June. While lower vehicle Market Outlook taxes have helped ease concerns over The Brazilian auto sector has experienced credit availability, political and social In the last few years, the passenger vehi- incredible growth in the last few years, unrest will serve to constrain growth, cle industry was largely driven by strong now representing the fourth largest sales particularly at the rate seen in the first economic growth. However, a host of

20 www.autotechreview.com domestic factors in the form of increasing by around 25 % to over 5.8 mn units in high acquisition costs and increasing fuel fuel prices, the weakening rupee and pro- 2013. To keep pace with slowing prices. One of the key growth drivers was longed high interest rates led to rising demand and bridge the gap between the strategy by automakers to build a vehicle financing costs, thus leading to a sales and output, leading OEMs scaled range of cheap, smaller and more fuel- slowdown in the demand for cars. While back their production recently and block efficient and affordable cars to cater not the demand for micro or small SUVs pro- closures have become a regular theme only to local customers, but also to use vided a boost to India's passenger vehicle in India. At least 50 to 60 days of pro- India as an export hub for small car man- market, passenger car sales fell during FY duction days have been lost as compa- ufacturing. To assemble these low-margin 2013 for the first time in a decade by 6.7 nies are now shutting down production vehicles profitably, car manufacturers are % to 1.9 mn units. Despite OEMs launch- at their plants to cope with an inventory investing in local production to cut costs ing 22 special editions in the previous pile-up at stockyards and dealerships in and ramp up volumes with exports seen months, giving interest-free repayment the past six to eight months. as an opportunity to expand the volume and discounts up to 20 % to catch cus- Although demand for vehicles in base and create scale. tomers at dealerships, the car industry India increased over the past years, faces the decade’s worst slowdown. motorisation in India in terms of vehicle After more than 10 years of steady penetration and sales per capita is still CONCLUSION output growth, India’s production is among the lowest compared to other forecast to fall by around 3 % to 3.33 markets. However, low car penetration The differences in the structure of the mn units for the current year. Accord- coupled with a huge population and a automotive industry in India and other ingly, excess capacity is expected to growing middle class with increasing developed countries (US, EU and reach a record high of 2.5 mn in the cur- purchasing power makes India still a Japan) are indeed immense. However, rent year making capacity utilisation fall high potential growth market for major we can learn from the policy approaches to 57 %, representing the lowest level OEMs to keep investing in. adopted by the industry there and for more than a decade. With a vehicle density per 1000 popu- develop a mechanism or framework that Just two years ago, India was seen as lation at around 22.5 and vehicle sales per insulates the Indian industry against the world's hottest growth market after 1000 at 2.73, India falls far behind other future economic shocks. All industry China and major OEMs invested in emerging markets 4. Vehicle sales stakeholders must learn to integrate capacity expansion. Within these two remains low largely due to relatively low different approaches, in order to build years, assembly capacity in India rose per capita income levels combined with efficient capacity at their plants and improve employee skills. The know-how which exists among a few must be dif- fused and shared among all so that the 1000 entire industry works in the same direction in order to build a business based USA model that has scale and sustainability. 800

References: [1] David Phillips, "Automakers Close Out 2012 a

it Strong As Dec. Volume Rises 9%," Automotive News, 8/8/13 cap 600 r Japan EU15 [2] Kicking Tires, "U.S. Auto Sales Propelled The

pe Economy In 2012," blogs.cars.com, Accessed,

8/8/2013 CV [3] "Auto Sales Powered 2012 Recovery,www.upi. d New EU com, Accessed, 8/8/2013 an 400 [4] Bureau Of Labour Statistics, "Employment,

PC South Korea Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey (National)," Accessed, 8/8/13 Russia [5] Department Of Commerce, International Trade China Administration, "U.S. Export Fact Sheet 200 [6] Department Of Commerce, International Trade India Brazil Administration, "U.S. Export Fact Sheet," 8/8/13; Mark Doms, Department of Commerce Chief Econ- Bubble size refers to the omist, Economics & Statistics Administration, The Indonesia countries‘ populations Commerce Blog, "U.S. Manufacturing Continues To Create Jobs In The US," 0 0510 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Passenger & CV sales per capita

4 India: Vehicles (PC+CV) per capita and vehicle density, 2011 Read this article on Source: Autofacts analysis, VDA www.autotechreview.com autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 21

Cover Story FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS THE NEW DENSO COMMON RAIL DIESEL SOLENOID INJECTOR

The new G4S injector from Denso with a three-way valve function improves hydraulic efficiency, thus cutting fuel consumption by around 1 %. A 75 % reduction in moving masses results in significantly improved hydraulics. Due to its minimised leakage, the injector has considerably lower fuel cooling requirements and is significantly more robust in dealing with variations in diesel fuel qualities.

24 www.autotechreview.com Authors INTRODUCTION Thanks to its high actuation forces, the G3P injector realises a direct three-way An increasing numbers of diesel engines valve, which can minimise switching will be sold worldwide, with growth leakage significantly. It is a disadvantage especially in the emerging markets. On of conventional current in-production the other hand, extremely strict emis- solenoid injectors, where high switching

sion regulations and CO2 regulation leakages plus clearance leakages cause Shuichi Matsumoto is Director Diesel Injection need to be fulfilled in the developed waste of energy and fuel deterioration due Engineering Division at Denso countries. Therefore, the diesel injection to high local temperatures in the fuel Corporation in Kariya (Japan). equipment is required to realise higher return lines [2]. A breakthrough was fuel metering accuracies and to provide required to the control valve structure [1] increased injection pressures to meet to accomplish zero clearance leakage stricter emission and fuel consumption using a solenoid actuator. regulations, while realising higher spe- In the new 4th generation solenoid cific engine performance. injector, G4S, this could be achieved by Engine makers and OEMs further a new three-way valve function. Com- Kenji Date require improved robustness against pared to current solenoid injector (G3S, is Manager at the Diesel Injection Engineering Division, Denso diversified market fuels, pressure mainte- generation 3 solenoid) the overall Corporation in Kariya (Japan). nance characteristics in the idle stop sys- hydraulic performance was improved [2]. tem (ISS) and easy installation of the fuel Compared to G3P, thanks to simple sole- injection equipment (FIE). One key com- noid technology, long lifetime require- ponent to meet these demands is the ments of commercial applications are injector. Technically, it is possible with enabled with up to 2,500 bar and later an in-production 3rd generation piezo 3,000 bar injection pressure [3]. injector G3P (generation 3 piezo) to fulfil Tooru Taguchi the oncoming requirements [1]. However, is Project Assistant Manager at the the solenoid technology guarantees for G4S INJECTOR HYDRAULIC Diesel Injection Engineering Division, Denso Corporation in Kariya (Japan). high robustness, long lifetimes and cost FUNCTION AND PERFORMANCE optimisation. Thus, Denso has developed a new generation solenoid injector G4S The current in-production G3S injector (generation 4 solenoid) meeting the same has mounted the solenoid valve on the performance as the G3P injector. The top of the injector. Thanks to the more focus was on the development targets as than 70 % reduced switching leakage, the mentioned in, 1. G4S solenoid could be minimised in size

Dr. Olaf Erik Herrmann is Team Leader Advanced Diesel Engine Management System at Denso International Europe in Wegberg features FIE benefit G3S G3P G4S (Germany). Eliminate clearance Start-stop capability, fuel robustness, No Yes Yes leakage efficiency

Minimise switching Further improved fuel robustness and No Yes Yes leakage fuel efficiency

Easy installation, pressure sensor Small size control valve option (i-ART, intelligent accuracy No Yes Yes refinement technology)

Individual nozzle open/ Injection rate tuning option No Yes Yes close speed

Locate actuator and Reduced moving mass to improve control chamber direct hydraulic performance, injection ac- No Yes Yes close to needle curacy and stability

Increase injection pres- Reduced emissions, reduced fuel 2500 to 2000 bar 2000 bar sure consumption, high power 3000 bar*

* Next step for heavy duty application

❶ Development targets for the new G4S injector compared with other Denso diesel injectors autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 25 Cover Story FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS

Before injection the needle, the moving sure in the control chamber can rise again Control valve mass can be reduced very quickly thanks to an independent drastically by 75 %. inlet orifice. The closing speed can be Intermediate chamber Part of the control influenced by tuning of the inlet orifice – chamber shown in ② is typically fast closing is preferred. Inlet-oriﬁce the so called control The positive impact on the injector High-pressure plate, which is normally hydraulic performance is shown in 3. circular groove closing the inlet orifice Thanks to the ballistic needle, the so as seen on top left side. called gain curve of the injector is very Outlet oriﬁce The outlet orifice is linear, same or better as known from the included in the control G3P [1, 2]. Up to 2,500 bar the curves can plate and can be tuned be kept linear and for each pressures well Control plate to determine the open- separated, which is needed for accurate ing speed of the needle. injection control and for efficient compen- Control chamber When the control valve sation functions. Also to keep the gain opens, the pressure in curves smooth, especially in the small Nozzle needle the control chamber quantity area, is beneficial for stable pilot Start of injection End of injection will be dropped. During injection quantities in production and injection, the control during lifetime. plate keeps the inlet ori- As indicated in ③, the conventional fice closed, so no flow solenoid injector requires some connect- into the control cham- ing element, which creates friction and ber occurs. When the increases the moving mass. For G4S the control valve is closed, repeatability from injection to injection ❷ G4S solenoid injector structure and function as shown in ②, on bot- has been improved. The so called shot-to- tom right side, thanks shot performance is also shown in ③. to a high-pressure circu- With even 2,500 bar injection pressure the and moved centrally to the injector close lar groove the force balance on the control shot-to-shot deviation is improved by up to the nozzle needle. As shown in 2 there plate will change. to 50 % compared to the conventional is no additional command piston needed The intermediate chamber pressure injector with 2,000 bar injection pressure. any more and the needle is actuated will become same as in the control cham- To inject on every cylinder at every com- directly by the pressure in the control ber and the pressure in the high-pressure bustion cycle, same injection quantities is chamber. There is no part in the injector, circular groove is higher. This creates a beneficial. In the pilot quantity area mini- which is sliding and has sealing function change in force balance on the control mised shot-to-shot deviations enable at the same time. Thanks to the direct plate and the control plate is moving and directly a reduction of the minimum pos- positioning of the control chamber above opening the inlet orifice. Then, the pres- sible injection quantity. In combination

80 Rail pressure [bar] Conventional 2500 G3S 70 2000 1600 60 1200 New /stroke] 3 800 Actuator G4S 50 400 40

30 G3S (2000 bar) G4S (2500 bar) 20 /stroke] 3

Injection quantity [mm 10

0 Command piston

10 Shot to shot quantity deviation [mm 8 Injected fuel quantity [mm3/stroke] 6 4 Nozzle needle 2 0 0 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 Energising time [ms]

❸ Injection quantity of G4S as function of electrical energising (left) and injection quantity deviation from injection-to-injection (right)

26 www.autotechreview.com Low end torque

G3S G4S 40 Two-way valve Three-way function /stroke] with command piston without command piston 3 20 0.5 kW mech. power 0 Leakage [mm G3S G4S L H L H

Rated power Control chamber 40 Command /stroke] piston 3 20 Nozzle needle 2 kW 0 mech. power Leakage [mm G3S G4S

H High-pressure side Clearance leakage L Low-pressure side Switching leakage

❹ Injector fuel leakage for G3S and G4S injector for a four-cylinder engine at 2000 bar injection pressure

with conventional learning functions or progressive with the utilised injection injection pressure). At high engine optional with i-ART, stable pilot injections pressure [2]. Also at lower engine speeds, speeds, the clearance leakage per stroke is can be realised, for example, to ensure clearance leakage becomes bigger due to reduced due to less time between injec- stable emissions and performance for pas- more time between the injections. The tions. However, the total leakage flow senger car applications during lifetime. second contribution is the switching leak- delivered by the high-pressure pump age, which for conventional injectors increases. Thus, at rated power the leak- occurs not only from control chamber, but age creates almost 2,000 W of pump driv- BENEFIT OF THREE-WAY-FUNCTION also from high-pressure side as long as ing power as total saving potential. VALVE the armature of the solenoid valve is With G4S the clearance leakage is opened. That means for each injection it avoided completely. This allows especially The elimination of clearance leakage and occurs; and the reduction of switching leakage was a longer the injec- Injection quantity: 80 mm3/stroke major development target. Hydraulic sim- tion duration is, 80 ulations, engine bench and vehicle inves- the more switching tigations have shown, that, thanks to leakage occurs. leakage reduction, about 1 % fuel con- The worst case, sumption reduction is possible for passen- thus, is full load G3S (2000 bar) 60 ger car application and for heavy duty operation as application in the whole map area [4]. shown in ④. At Leakage from the high-pressure side low end torque, a /stroke] results in more fuel to be delivered by the bit more than 40 3 40 high-pressure pump and thus fuel con- mm3 per stroke sumption increase of the engine. Further- leakage fuel need more leakage reduction is essential for to be additionally Leakage [mm efficient injection pressure increase, delivered by the which offers emissions and fuel consump- high-pressure 20 G4S (2500 bar) tion potential [3, 4]. pump – this is a 4 shows the actual quantity of the saving potential of leakage of a conventional solenoid injec- more than 500 W tor compared to G4S. On current solenoid pump driving 0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 injector G3S, clearance leakage occurs at power (at a four- the command piston and nozzle needle. It cylinder-engine Durability test time [h] is known that clearance leakage increases and 2,000 bar ❺ Stability of leakage during durability test autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 27 Cover Story FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS

Fuel exchange Fuel drift happens 0.4 Maximum No fuel drift TAN

Minimum G4S TAN 0.05

Total acid number 0.3 Time [mg KOH/g] Maximum TAN G3S ] 120 0.2

60 Leakage 0 600 800 1200 1600

temperature [°C 0 G3S G4S Endurance test time [h]

❻ Accelerated bio fuel robustness test on pump bench (schematic)

at low end torque a drastic leakage reduc- this, formation and adhesion of biopoly- the hydraulic efficiency can be increased tion and thus CO2 potential. This feature mer deposits was improved. An acceler- allowing about 1 % fuel savings. Also the is also supporting the ISS (idle start stop) ated test cycle to evaluate the injection hydraulic performance of the injector was function in an optimum way. After engine system in terms of robustness against improved – the shot-to-shot deviation was stop, the pressure can be maintained in deposits is shown in 6. Here, the worst reduced by 50 %. The fuel leakage tem- the rail easily for several minutes. For the case bio-fuel mixture of 20 % soya bean- perature can be reduced, which improves next start-up the rail pressure is available based bio-diesel is tested. The so called the fuel robustness of the injector and directly from the rail. TAN (Total Acid Number) increases due reduces the need for fuel cooling. Denso Additionally, the switching leakage can to oxidisation of fuel during fuel storage has launched the G4S injector at the be reduced by more than 70 % thanks to accelerated by high temperatures in the beginning of 2013 with up to 2,500 bar the three-way valve function. The remain- injection system – for example injector injection pressure and later will increase ing leakage correlates to the minimum leakage. The test shows how long the the injection pressure up to 3,000 bar. required energy to operate the servo injec- conventional in-production solenoid sys- tor (at low end torque less than 100 W). tem survives till fuel drift as function of References This increase of efficiency is also key for maximum selected TAN occurs. The [1] Kondo, S.; Toyoshima, Y.; Takayama, T.; Yamaguchi, M.: 200 MPa Piezo Common Rail Sys- further hydraulic efficient increase of achieved robustness is sufficient for tem. Journal of Society of Automotive Engineers of injection pressure beyond 2,500 bar up to today’s market fuel situation [5]. The new Japan, No 20095709, 10/2009 3,000 bar [4]. solenoid injector is significantly more [2] Matsumoto, S.; Date K.; Yamada, K.: Con- 5 shows the leakage characteristics robust against this extreme test and cepts and Evolution of Injector for Common Rail System, SAE 2012-01-1753, 2012 after durability test. The clearance leakage showed no fuel drift within 1,600 hr, [3] Shinohara, Y.; Takeuchi, K.; Herrmann, O.; is proportional to the cube of the clear- even if the maximum TAN number is Laumen, H. J.: 3000 bar Common Rail System, ance, and the clearance, which is usually increased. Thus, there is a bigger poten- In: MTZ 72 (2011), No. 1, pp. 4-8 [4] Herrmann, O.; Nakagawa, M.; Kenhard, M.; approximately 1 μm, is very sensitive to tial to keep the robustness of the system Schwab, H.; Miyaki, M.; Shinohara, Y.; Takeuchi, wear. On the other hand, orifice flow is even if fuels will change in the future. K.; Uchiyama, K.: Ultra High Pressure and En- proportional to the orifice area, which The explanation why the newly devel- hanced Multiple Injection – Potentials for the Die- sel Engine and Challenge for the Fuel Injection explains, why switching leakage is less oped solenoid injector G4S is more robust System. Fuel Injection Systems for IC engines, IM- sensitive in the durability test. The new to biopolymer deposits is on the one ECHE, 2012 structure without sliding portion and with hand, the number of moving parts and [5] Omori, T.; Tanaka, A.; Yamada, K.; Bunne, S.: three-way valve function, thanks to its the actually internal sliding area are Biodiesel deposit formation mechanism and im- provement of FIE. SAE 2011-01-1935, 2011 principle, is free from effects of temporal reduced drastically. On the other hand, wear even after the durability test, so the the internal temperature of the injector leakage quantity hardly changes at all. can be reduced. Very stable and small leakage quantities were verified, as shown in ⑤ [2]. Worldwide experience with different CONCLUSION fuels [5] has led to counter measures, like DLC coatings applied to the valve sliding Denso’s new solenoid injector G4S real- Read this article on portion of the in-production injector. By ises a three-way-function valve. By this www.autotechreview.com

28 www.autotechreview.com

Cover Story FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS HIGH-PRESSURE DIRECT INJECTION SYSTEMS FOR GASOLINE ENGINES

The market for gasoline engines with direct injection is still growing strongly. As market and technology leader, Bosch works continuously to develop and enhance injection-system components, ensuring that these injection valves, rails, and high-pressure pumps meet all the demands placed on them by the various combustion processes. The current focus of development work is on mechatronic approaches in which component attributes are optimised by combining them with intelligent software functions.

30 www.autotechreview.com Authors REQUIREMENTS droplet size and impulse, :: Minimal penetration due to continuing New legislation aimed at reducing auto- reduction in the size of combustion motive drive systems’ emissions and chambers, fuel consumption, especially in the case :: Minimal seat leakage when valve is of engines with gasoline direct injection closed, and (DI), is giving rise to a host of dynamic :: Applications with fuel qualities, which Dipl.-Ing. Axel Heinstein is Platform Project Manager requirements for the high-pressure vary around the world, and operating High-pressure Injector Solenoid injection valve [1]. It is currently impos- with mixed fuels containing alcohol. at Robert Bosch GmbH in sible to state when these requirements Bosch has developed two kinds of injector Schwieberdingen (Germany). will be finalised, and hence when it for this purpose: a multi-hole injector might change to be a commodity mar- with solenoid drive (HDEV5) and an out- ket. Instead, the demands placed on the ward-opening ring nozzle with piezo injection valve and the entire injection drive (HDEV4.1) [2]. systems are being further tightened in central areas. The core questions relate to spray MULTI-HOLE SOLENOID INJECTOR Dr.-Ing. Tilo Landenfeld is Platform Project Manager preparation, fuel metering for very small High-pressure Injection Piezo injected volumes, and operational robust- The HDEV5 solenoid injector, 2 (left), at Robert Bosch GmbH in ness. 1 lists the major technical require- represents today’s mainstream in world- Schwieberdingen (Germany). ments for DI injectors from the point of wide use for homogeneous combustion view of the combustion process. It should systems. Since SOP in 2005, Bosch has be noted that since injection requirements delivered more than 50 mn units. are determined by the interplay of in-cyl- For each injection, an electromagnet inder air flow, combustion chamber opens the injector. A mechanical geometry, and ignition, they need to be booster ensures rapid and reproducible adjusted for each application. needle opening even at system pressures Dipl.-Ing. Martin Riemer is Platform Project Manager The injector performs the following of 20 MPa. Fuel Charge Assembly at functions: In order to minimise the piece-to- Robert Bosch GmbH in :: Exact metering of fuel – introducing piece variation, in the case of very small Schwieberdingen (Germany). the correct volume at a precisely injection volumes of < 5 mg and to pre- defined point in time directly into the vent lifetime injection volume drift, combustion chamber, Bosch takes a mechatronic approach :: Wide metering range between operat- with controlled valve operation. Rather ing points close to overrun and very than employing open-loop control of the high volumes at full load, solenoid injector, as is current practice, :: Rapid succession of injection events the needle’s opening and closing times Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Sebastian is Platform Project Manager per power cycle, are determined by way of electronic High-pressure Pump at :: Precise injection spray layout, this is analysis of the control signal. A regula- Robert Bosch GmbH in described in terms of shape, position, tion algorithm in the engine control unit Schwieberdingen (Germany). and other spray characteristics such as keeps needle opening times constant for

combustion process homogeneous (λ = 1) stratified charge (lean)

position lateral central central

metering accuracy 2 mg/injection 2 mg/injection 1 mg/injection

multiple injection 3× 3× 5×

robustness life time Approximately 600 million cycles

spray tolerance 6° 6° 5°

spray design Flexible Symmetrical Symmetrical

fuels Worldwide use (E5-E100, M15)

seat leakage (SULEV) 2.5 mm3/min (< 1.0 mm3/min)

❶ Functional requirements for direct-injection injectors autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 31 Cover Story FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS

each injector. rise far beyond 20 MPa. EU6c is also electrical charge, the actuator stack can A throttle in the intake for the expected to encourage an expansion of exhibit various deflections to allow par- HDEV5 adjusted to the injector’s static multiple injections in operation. tial-stroke operation. In addition, the flow rate causes the injector to be Together, these two factors mean future directly controlled piezo drive makes it hydraulically isolated from the fuel rail. injectors will face even more demanding possible to carry out multiple injections The ensuing attenuation of pressure pul- requirements in terms of small volumes (up to 5 times) with a minimum interval sation prevents irregular needle closing and operation cycles. of 50 µs and a minimum volume of 0.7 times, which depend on various param- mg per injection. In future, this mode eters. The result is a linear injector char- will be extended to allow 8 injections. acteristic, which makes short injection PIEZO INJECTOR The active principle of the compensa- times possible. Attenuating the pressure tion element, also called a coupler, is pulsation also leads to a considerable The piezo injector is the only injector in hydraulic. It equalises the length offset reduction of noise for the entire high- a stratified-charge combustion approach between valve housing and piezo stack, pressure injection system. currently in large-scale series production which arises from the differing degree to Spray preparation in the HDEV5 is [3]. The HDEV4.1 comprises three func- which their materials expand under the carried out using a multi-hole nozzle. tional groups: the valve group; the piezo influence of changes in temperature. Laser drilling technology is applied dur- actuator module; and the hydraulic com- This means that across all operating ing production to ensure extremely pre- pensation element (coupler), ② (right). conditions, even in extremes of temper- cise spray holes. Bosch makes system- The valve group essentially com- ature, the needle stroke remains con- atic use of the resulting possibilities for prises the valve needle, biased by a stant and hence the injection volume is optimising valve hydraulics to achieve spring, and a valve body. The needle is reproducible. Even in the case of long better spray atomisation. Laser drilling moved directly by actuating the piezo injection times (peak load range), the technology allows not only tailored stack. The opening and closing proce- coupler’s stiffness is sufficient to avoid spray angles, a well-known approach, dure is instantaneous. The needle opens a loss of stroke. but also individual hole diameters. This outward to reveal a ring-shaped gap. The three functional groups are con- allows an optimum distribution of fuel The fuel leaves from this gap at high nected to each other via a housing. A for each combustion concept with indi- speed in the form of a thin film. A hol- coding step measures the stroke capac- vidually controlled spray beam penetra- low cone spray with a stably positioned ity of each injector and saves the meas- tion. For new generations, this produc- border vortex is formed, close to which urements in a data matrix code for use tion process also offers the possibility of the ignition spark is positioned. The in the control unit. By further improving making spray holes non-cylindrical, spray angle is virtually unaffected by the coding concept, it will in future be which presents a further degree of free- the counter pressure. possible to maintain a statistical meter- dom for spray design. The piezo actuator module is the ing accuracy of 10 %, even in the case In order to comply with the tighter actuating element. The piezo stack lying of tiny volumes. Today, piezo injectors limits in the EU6c European emissions within is comprised of many piezo- in combination with the spray-guided legislation, in particular the limited ceramic and electrically-contacted layers combustion process already offer a solu- number of particles in the RDE (real and is biased against pressure by a sur- tion that complies with the EU6 particu- driving emissions), system pressure will rounding spring. By applying a defined lates values [4]. The comparison of the features of both injection concepts in 3 summa- rises the twin-track approach taken by Bosch to meet market requirements. The HDEV4.1 offers very high accuracy in terms of both spray angle and metering accuracy. On the other hand, the HDEV5 offers the flexibility to adjust the spray to the combustion chamber geometry, at a lower cost than the piezo injector. 4 compares the volume characteristics and the spray images of the two injection concepts.

HIGH-PRESSURE PUMP

Analogous to the injector, expected changes in emissions legislation will ❷ Detailed illustration of the HDEV5 (left) and the HDEV4.1 (right) increase demands on the high-pressure

32 www.autotechreview.com multi-hole solenoid piezo a-jet tested fuel supply control and exhaust

applicability to combustion + + valves to obtain benchmark results for process Lateral and central Central, also stratified acoustic performance and increased delivery quantities. Stricter emissions regula- metering area + ++ tions may have an impact on required sys- multiple injections + ++ tem pressure. Bosch is currently developing a high-pressure pump to meet these spray flexibility ++ O increased requirements.

penetration + ++

atomisation + ++ FUEL DISTRIBUTOR

costs ++ O Today’s DI systems use a fuel rail, ⑤ ❸ Injector characteristics (right), for fuel distribution. Accurate consumption data for the system form the basis for ensuring it is designed with suf- pump. Here, the required system pres- pressure can be altered sufficiently ficient volume, taking into account per- sure is crucial due to its impact on the quickly even when the engine’s fuel missible pressure variations and accepta- pump design and pump functionality requirement is at its maximum, the HDP5 ble cold-start behaviour. The characteris- including efficiency, acoustics, and com- flow rate is designed to cover maximum tics of the stipulated fuels must also be ponent strength. demand, taking into account factors that considered in the design process. The HDP5 high-pressure pump, 5 affect delivery performance such as hot Starting from volume and cylinder (left), is a cam-driven single-cylinder fuel, pump ageing, and dynamics. spacing, stainless steel fuel rails are pump running in oil with an integrated Volumetric efficiency is essentially adjusted to the engine packaging. fuel-supply control valve (metering dependent on piston diameter, stroke, and Depending on the mounting positions for unit), a fuel-pressure limiter on the engine speed: the injectors in the cylinder head (lateral, high-pressure side and an integrated :: At low engine speeds, piston leakage central), the offset between injectors and fuel-pressure attenuator on the low- and other sorts of leak, the main storage volume, various design pressure side. It is attached to the cylin- :: At high engine speeds, the inertia and solutions can be applied. More stringent der head as a plug-in pump and driven opening pressure of the intake and noise requirements are met by connecting from the camshaft. exhaust valves, and the injectors directly to the rail and isolat- With current system pressures reach- :: Across the entire engine speed range, ing the metal rail from the cylinder head ing 20 MPa, the demands in terms of the dead volume in the delivery cham- with elastomers. lubrication, Hertz contact pressure and ber and the temperature dependence In balancing the conflicting demands moment of inertia, are reaching their lim- of the fuel’s compressibility. of sufficient strength, optimised costs, and its in some cases. To ensure that system Work continues on the HDP5 tried-and- weight optimisation, designing the rail to

40 HDEV4.1

Fuel mass [mg/Hub] HDEV5 20

0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2

Time [ms]

❹ Spray characteristics for both injectors autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 33 Cover Story FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS

withstand fatigue damage is a challenge. The process Bosch follows to ensure sufficient strength will now be described using the fuel rail as an example, but it is applied in a comparable way, when dealing with other high-pressure components. As well as the time-variable stresses caused by system pressure, the design process must also reflect temperature- induced stresses, as their occurrence can be as significant locally, depending on the way they are affected by the installation space. Attention must also be paid to the media to which the components will be exposed. The product can finally be released once its operational strength has been demonstrated. First, a load spectrum must be built up in order to determine the total damage sum at all critical ❻ Illustration of a S-N curve (blue) determined experimentally and a load spectrum (red) determined points. The pressure load spectrum is experimentally; the inset is a schematic of the approach taken for damage accumulation determined from vehicle measurements, using representative journey lengths, by means of a classification process known tistical methods are used to compare the generation of components for gasoline as rainflow counting, and extrapolated tolerable and actual damage sums. Only direct injection will be to comply with to service life. on the basis of this procedure it is possi- the challenges presented by the EU6 Damage-equivalent data reduction, ble to arrive at a positive value for oper- regulations. Central to these are rising the addition of synthetic segments ational strength with a computational system pressure and further improved including starting events and failure probability of failure of <1 ppm for spray characteristics in injectors, as well events, and consideration of the effec- safety-critical components. When con- as secondary functions such as compo- tive temperature differentials give a sidering future increases in system pres- nent weight and acoustics. pressure-temperature load spectrum, 6. sures, it is essential to minimise the On the basis of S-N curves deter- increase in pressure-induced stresses by REFERENCES mined experimentally, a total damage way of design adjustments. [1] Kufferath, A. et al.: EU6 als Herausforderung für die Benzindirekteinspritzung – Eine Bewertung sum can be derived for each critical zukunftsfähiger Systemansätze. 33rd International point by a process of linear damage Vienna Motor Symposium, 2012 accumulation. Each of these tolerable OUTLOOK [2] Hübel, M.: High Pressure Fuel Injectors for damage sums is established through Homogeneous and Stratified DI Combustion Concepts. 3rd International Automotive Workshop, operational strength testing. Finally, sta- The main focus in developing the next Spa, 2007 [3] Waltner, A., et al.: Der neue 3,5-l-V6-Ottomo- tor mit Direkteinspritzung von Mercedes-Benz. In: MTZ 71 (2010), No. 9, pp. 576–585 [4] Lückert, P. et al.: Potenziale strahlgeführter Brennverfahren in Verbindung mit Downsizing- Konzepten. 32nd International Vienna Motor Sym posium, 2011

Read this article on ❺ Detailed illustration of the HDP5 (left) and the fuel distributor (right) www.autotechreview.com

34 www.autotechreview.com

Cover Story FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS SPRAY-GUIDED DIRECT INJECTION FOR BOOSTED GASOLINE ENGINES

The combustion process continues to be highly instrumental in further improving the gasoline engine’s fuel economy. Ricardo’s newly developed spray-guided direct injection combustion system allows turbocharged gasoline engines to run with low fuel consumption, at some operating points even at diesel levels. Using this technology, the gasoline engine runs nearly completely unthrottled and exploits lean burn benefits throughout an ex- ceptionally wide part of the engine map. It is also able to burn up to E85 or M40 fuels.

36 www.autotechreview.com Authors MOTIVATION tion system, the initial goal was to design an efficient, low-NOx combustion process Meeting future passenger car fuel effi- that would run stably under the most ciency targets remains a challenge demanding of operating conditions. Dur- around the globe. Further progress will ing a technology review, stratified charge depend on innovation in many fields was identified as the ultimate challenge; but the combustion process will obvi- therefore the development goal was to Jason King is Chief Engineer Gasoline Engines ously have to play a key part in the come up with a combustion strategy that at Ricardo in Shoreham-by-Sea industry’s efforts to improve vehicle fuel is highly tolerant to diluent across the full (Great Britain). economy and emission levels. Since the engine operating map. late 1990s, stratified injection has been During the subsequent work, which used to increase the gasoline engine’s was carried out in collaboration with Pet- fuel efficiency during part-load opera- ronas Research between 2008 and 2011, it tion. It turned out that it is quite feasi- became clear that a T-SGDI engine can ble to design a stable stratified charge overcome the previous limitations of strat- and combustion process that approaches ified charging. In retrospect, it appears Peter Feulner 290 g/kWh of fuel efficiency at 2,000 that boosting was one of the missing ele- is Leader Research and Technology for Ricardo Germany at the Ricardo rpm and 2 bar brake mean effective ments of the first stratified charge com- Technical Centre in Schwäbisch pressure (BMEP). Yet, the expected bustion solutions. Applied to Ricardo’s Gmünd (Germany). gains shown within regulated drive four-cylinder 2 l Volcano gasoline engine, cycles could not be fully translated into the new boosted T-SGDI utilises stratified real-world benefits. The primary reason charge at previously unachievable BMEP for this was that even spray-guided levels of up to 15 bar. BMEP results in a stratified injection was limited to low remarkable fuel efficiency increase. At the speeds and loads. “classic” 2,000 rpm, 2 bar BMEP point the However, the principle of using excess brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of air and/or residual gas as a diluent in the the lean stratified T-SGDI engine was combustion chamber, to minimise the measured at only 277.5 g/kWh versus 370 amount of stoichiometric combustible g/kWh in homogenous lambda 1 mode, charge, continues to offer potential. When yet at 10 bar BMEP and 40 Nm torque the Ricardo began to develop what ultimately BSFC falls to a diesel like 206 g/kWh. At resulted in the new turbocharged spray 2,500 rpm the T-SGDI engine undercuts guided direct injection (T-SGDI) combus- the BSFC levels of a benchmark Euro V

450 120

425 100

400 80

375 PMax 60 Boost 350 Spark 40 Best in class gasoline engine 325 Typical diesel BSFC 20 BSFC PMax [bar]

BSFC [g/kWh] 300 0

275 -20

250 -40 Boost pressure [kPa], Spark advance [°CA BTDC], 225 -60

200 -80 024681012141618202224262830 BMEP [bar]

❶ Detailed T-SGDI engine data at 2500 rpm show how well BSFC can be maintained at high loads whilst not exceeding maximum pressure limits autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 37 Cover Story FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS

❷ A Hydra single-cylinder optical engine was used to validate the CFD spray and combustion modelling

four-cylinder 1.6 l diesel engine, 1. combustion, 2. Finally, the fully func- study was considered unnecessary for the tional four-cylinder Volcano gasoline multi-cylinder engine. A Garrett fixed engines were used on a test bench to vali- geometry turbocharger was matched to ENGINE AND OPERATION date the single-cylinder engine results and the multi-cylinder engine to provide high undertake further emissions development. specific performance. For the T-SGDI A combination of benchmarking, The Volcano engine is a four-cylinder in- development four different types of injec- advanced design, analysis, rig testing, line gasoline engine with 2 l displacement tor technology were investigated in a cen- engine development plus calibration tools (86 mm bore, 86 mm stroke), with a nom- tral position within the combustion cham- and techniques was utilised to realise the inal compression ratio of 10.7:1. It has ber, including piezo-electric and solenoid T-SGDI technology. An optical access sin- twin cam phasers for variable valve tim- types. The engine management includes a gle-cylinder research engine served to val- ing (VVT) but the variable valve lift Pectel+Drivven injector driver unit. idate the CFD models of injection and explored in the single-cylinder engine At 197 kW and 391 Nm of torque, the

Best BSFC achieved at mid load under boosted conditions. With this concept it could be possible to over downsize or downspeed the engine, dependant on the vehicle application

Red region: 35 Grey region: : WOT boosted region BSFC [g/kWh] : Lambda 1 operating region with : Combination of close spaced multiple injection strategies for late injections and Mivis 30 knock mitigation 340 strategy 300 280 : Low pressure cooled WOT 42042420 : EGR 0 to 10 % EGR (5 to 15 %) can be used 25 when combined with advanced boosting and increased CR for further 240 Remaining region: efﬁciency improvements 20 230 Lambda 1.4 to 1, operating region, 220 no EGR required Green region: BMEP [bar] 15 : WOT boosted region 203 : Mivis strategy for best BSFC Lower speed, best BSFC : „Off-cycle“, hence EGR O % island limited by achievable 240 10 210 boost pressure – rematching of the T/C should improve 210 260 Blue region: this 280 : WOT (effectively) NA stratiﬁed 5 300 region 34420 : All late, close spaced multiple 420 injections 0 : EGR 10 to 30 %, dependent on 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000 engine-out NOx target Engine speed [rpm] ❸ Map of the BSFC of the T-SGDI engine

38 www.autotechreview.com engine is strong enough to offer the gener- ous level of power for a D-segment car typically found in Europe or North Amer- ica. However, the T-SGDI technology has been developed to be scalable down to a 72 mm bore. The standard fuel is 95 RON ULG, but the injection process also works stably with alternative fuels up to E85 and M40 blends. Much like a diesel engine, the T-SGDI engine runs almost completely unthrottled with excess air (up to 4,500 rpm): the driver’s load request is directly translated into the injected fuel quantity. Depending on the load request, the size of the λ=1 air fuel mix zone is varied from stratified to a stoichiometric mix, in the whole of the combustion chamber. From stable idling at an air/fuel ratio of 160:1 (λ>10) to a boosted mid load at up to 15 bar BMEP, the stratified charge is surrounded by excess air and/or residual gas. By expanding boosted and stratified operation, the T-SGDI engine offers the combined benefits of downsizing and minimum fuel injection. The multi-cylinder engine demonstrated that fuel consumption benefits were significantly enhanced through boosting, with a best BSFC of 203 g/kWh being achieved at 2,250 rpm and 13 bar BMEP. The higher mass flow during part load, resulting from unthrottled operation also improves tur- ❹ NOx levels of the T-SGDI engine at various speeds in comparison to a benchmark diesel engine bocharger response. In addition, the best BSFC engine map areas are much closer to real-world requirements than is the case with previ- cycle. In the cold engine up to eight shots retarding combustion is important to meet ous stratified charge solutions, 3. Unlike are used during catalyst light-off to mini- NOx legislation at minimum system cost. a diesel engine, there is no practical mise both particulate mass and number. By this strategy alone, NOx emissions smoke limited air/fuel ratio, so lambda When warm, the T-SGDI engine typically were almost halved in the T-SGDI engine. can be instantaneously switched from utilises up to five injections per working At mid load (1,250 to 4,500 rpm and lean to 1 or richer to maximise the air uti- cycle, which are timed depending on the typically 8 up to 15 bar BMEP) the T-SGDI lisation for maximum torque and for operating conditions. engine is run in boosted stratified mode. increased enthalpy release to the turbine At lower loads and up to around 7 bar The individual injection shots are sepa- to enhance run-up. BMEP, the engine runs effectively natu- rated from each other and stretched out rally aspirated with stratified charge. over a longer time-span to improve ther- Multiple injections are closely grouped mal efficiency, when combined with the INJECTION STRATEGY together and timed late in the compres- lower heat losses achieved by leaner oper- sion stroke to enable phasing of the com- ation, thanks to boosting. This mode is As the fuel efficiency and engine-out bustion to the thermodynamic optimum called Multiple Injection Variable Injection emission levels depend on the initial fuel in order to improve fuel efficiency and to Separation (Mivis). In both fully stratified spray, evaporation and mixture prepara- significantly reduce engine out NOx lev- and Mivis modes, the injection strategies tion, the injection strategy plays a central els. This addresses one of the previous enable optimum mixing but also control role in the T-SGDI engine. The injectors issues of stratified charge engines, which charge turbulent kinetic energy to ensure tested on the project have been capable of tended towards over-advanced combus- good ignitability and optimum heat a minimum of four completely independ- tion at almost all stratified points. As high release after spark. ent injections, and in theory one injector NOx levels are typically found during the From mid to full load, the combus- type is able to perform up to 15 shots per combustion phase before top dead centre, tion chamber is charged with either a autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 39 Cover Story FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS

Vehicle: D-segment saloon Vehicle: D-segment saloon Vehicle: D-segment saloon Engine: 3.0-l V6 NA PFI dVVT Engine: 2.0-l TC GDI dVVT Engine: 2.0-I T-SGDI dVVT Transmission: eight gear AT Transmission: eight gear AT Transmission: eight gear AT IWC: 1810 kg IWC: 1810 kg IWC: 1810 kg

NEDC FE: 229 g/km CO2* NEDC FE: 168 g/km CO2* NEDC FE: 143 g/km CO2*

Best-in-class central injector Volcano 2.0 l engine with 2.0-l non-CVVL engine 2 % LNT regen. fuel cons. penalty 400 400

300 300

200 200

BSFC [g/kWh] 100 100

0 0 0 1500 3000 4500 6000 0 1500 3000 4500 6000 Speed [rpm] Speed [rpm] * Stop/start and upgraded thermal systems beneﬁt included

❺ A vehicle simulation shows that the T-SGDI engine would reduce the BSFC of a conventional D-segment saloon with 3.0-l NA engine by 40 %, and the BSFC of a downsized turbocharged 2.0-l λ=1 engine by 15 %

lean or homogenous λ=1 mixture for the T-SGDI engine to meet future resulting in a lot of interest in stratified depending upon fuel economy or emis- NOx legislation. charge. The combined effects of strati- sions control priorities. Fuel is injected fied charge and boosting can be used to during both the intake and compression achieve better fuel efficiency without stroke to mitigate knock. SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK excessive downsizing. Driveability, for instance, could benefit from the torque The T-SGDI engine is based on a new, reserve that a slightly bigger engine has NOx EMISSIONS robust, boosted stratified charge com- to offer. bustion system that runs successfully in Potential future concept progress The most challenging aspect of the pro- extreme modes. The combustion pro- appears possible by further improving ject was to reduce part load engine out cess is very tolerant to diluent but the robustness to even more diluent. NOx levels to those suitable for a lowest works equally well with a homogenous Recent work with a re-optimised single- cost aftertreatment solution for Euro VI stoichiometric charge. Even at high cylinder research engine with a revised and beyond, including proposed strin- loads, the combustion process shows lit- ignition system has shown a brake spe- gent LEV 3 US legislation. This was tle degradation in fuel consumption. At cific fuel consumption of less than 200 achieved through the optimised com- the same time the concept is based g/kWh but the challenge will be main- bustion phasing enabled by multiple around in production or near production taining this high level of efficiency injections and external EGR. In the technologies. The T-SGDI engine’s best whilst meeting future US LEV 3 emis- boosted mode, the T-SGDI engine uses efficiency is typically approached at sion requirements. By applying a Miller up to 30 % of low pressure EGR. In the around mid-load, which on the boosted cycle to reduce compression tempera- non-boosted mode both low and high engine is 10 to 13 bar BMEP, where the tures and increase the expansion ratio, pressure EGR are feasible. BSFC approaches 200 g/kWh. there may be additional potential to External EGR can also be used under The multiple injection strategy, increase the tolerance to knocking. high load conditions, but here it is for which is optimised for individual oper- knock mitigation rather than NOx ating modes, improves combustion effi- reduction. 4 shows that NOx levels in ciency and brings down NOx levels. the region of 0.5 to 2 g/kWh is achieved Together with the gains from low pump- with the T-SGDI engine, when fully ing and heat losses, this gives T-SGDI a stratified. By combining Mivis and EGR, good potential to improve fuel economy, the engine-out NOx is between a fifth 5. Challenges, such as the US passen- and a tenth of a conventional homoge- ger car target of 54.5 mpg (US) by 2025 nous gasoline engine. The figures sug- and other similarly stringent regulations Read this article on

gest that a small NOx trap would suffice on fuel economy and CO2, are already www.autotechreview.com

40 www.autotechreview.com

Commercial Vehicles

Technology TRANSMISSION THE TRAXON MODULAR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

Truck transmissions are now expected to do far more than just transfer power. They are also tasked with ensuring that modern-day commercial vehicles are environmentally friendly, economical, quiet and comfortable. ZF Friedrichshafen AG has developed Traxon – an automatic transmission system for heavy trucks that is ready for volume production and tailored to present and future requirements. Traxon is based on a compact basic transmission and a flexible modular concept.

42 www.autotechreview.com Commercial Vehicles

Authors GENERAL REQUIREMENTS transmission system lies a basic transmission, which ZF designed in two versions – Globalisation, the shortage of raw materi- with 12 or 16 speeds. The engineers als, environmental protection and more adopted a very compact design for stringent legal requirements pose the Traxon, consisting of a splitter group, a greatest challenges for today’s global com- main transmission and a range change mercial vehicle industry. Additional crite- group, as well as two countershafts and Dipl.-Ing. Wilhelm Härdtle is Head of Product Development ria apply to commercial vehicle driveline one main shaft. All the models are availa- Transmissions for Heavy Vehicles in systems such as transmissions. They need ble as Direct Drive or Overdrive versions, the Commercial Vehicle Technology to be used in a host of different applica- the latter with a particularly long ratio of Division at ZF Friedrichshafen AG tions and be capable of meeting high ser- the highest speed. The basic transmission (Germany). vice life requirements – the product life comes as standard with a single-plate dry cycle is more than 15 years. clutch as a starting element. For specialist All of this has wide-ranging repercus- applications, such as construction site sions on innovations. On the one hand, usage, a dual-plate clutch is available with designers are looking to factor in current a larger wear volume of the facings and a product requirements such as lower fuel higher short-term thermal load. Further-

Dr.-Ing. Christoph Rüchardt consumption and noise emissions, greater more, the transmission concept allows for is Project Manager in Product reliability and a longer service life, another two gears, providing four reverse Development Transmissions for enhanced functionality and comfort/con- gears in total. Heavy Vehicles in the Commercial venience, as well as compliance with all In particular, the automatic gearshifts Vehicle Technology Division at ZF Friedrichshafen AG (Germany). the statutory provisions. On the other allow Traxon to meet future CO2 and fuel- hand, the product also has to be prepared consumption reduction targets. This set- for the general requirements that are up allows the new transmission to interact almost impossible to assess during the optimally with the internal combustion second half of the product life cycle. engine and other vehicle sub-systems, The kind of legal requirements placed while largely preventing any driver inter-

on CO2 and noise emissions limits for ventions that may potentially impair the Dr. Stephan Demmerer commercial vehicle in 15 years’ time and efficiency of the overall vehicle system in is Head of Product Planning for the long-term trend in fuel prices are just standard driving situations. Truck Transmissions in the two of the many imponderables. The leg- The level of noise generated by a Commercial Vehicle Technology Division at ZF Friedrichshafen AG islator will also play a crucial role in truck transmission is also a determining (Germany). determining which technical concepts for factor – particularly in respect of upcom- trucks prove to be the most economical. If ing legal standards – in terms of the the permissible overall length of semitrail- unit’s future viability. ZF has optimised ers increases, for instance, then aerody- the entire Traxon housing concept from namic measures will be the best option – this perspective, starting with the initial better even than driveline hybridisation – rigidity of the bearing supports through for reducing fuel consumption. the housing structure to the mechatron- Dipl.-Ing. (LRT) Axel Mors The Traxon transmission system, ics cover, which now constitutes a load- is Acoustics Coordinator for which is ready for volume production for bearing structure. Suitably redesigned Commercial Vehicle Transmissions in the Commercial Vehicle Technology heavy trucks, is a prime example of how manufacturing processes have also Division at ZF Friedrichshafen AG OEM component suppliers can offer solu- reduced the noise generated by the trans- (Germany). tions, which meet current requirements mission gears. One outstanding Traxon and which can also be flexibly adapted to feature is an elastomer damper patented meet future challenges. It is based on an by ZF to minimise rattling noise. An all-new basic transmission with numerous exhaust gas space integrated into the modular add-on options, ranging from the transmission minimises the pneumatic dual-clutch module to the hybrid module. exhaust gas noises that occur during gear As part of development, ZF Frie- changes. Overall, noise levels have been drichshafen AG adopted a holistic reduced by up to 6 dB(A). Four ZF approach covering mechanics, mechatron- Traxon units therefore emit the same ics and software. sound power as one conventional automatic truck reference transmission, 1. In order to meet exhaust emission THE TRAXON BASIC TRANSMISSION standards such as Euro VI, truck engines require numerous additional exhaust gas At the heart of the new automatic Traxon aftertreatment components. Overall, these

autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 43 Technology TRANSMISSION

Sound pressure during run-up to speed Sound pressure 1500 – 2000 rpm Conv. reference transmission

Conv. 4 x Traxon ZF Traxon reference 3 x Traxon transmission - 6 dB (A) 2 x Traxon

ZF Traxon Sound pressure [Pa] Sound pressure [dB(A)]

Speed ramp-up

❶ The new Traxon automatic transmission system emits up to 6 dB(A) less noise than a conventional reference transmission

not only increase weight but also cause The transmission’s power-to-weight control software in addition to the hard- pressure losses in the exhaust system, ratio is one factor in payload optimisation. ware. In particular, the model-based which in turn, increase fuel consumption. The transmission does not just have to be software development with automatic In order to offset this effect, OEMs tend to light itself, but must essentially be able to code generation enabled new functions adopt higher axle ratios. These ratios are transfer as much torque as possible per kg such as the anticipatory shift strategy designed to keep the engine speeds, par- of curb weight. This factor becomes Prevision GPS to be developed faster ticularly at the legally permitted top speed increasingly important as vehicles become and more efficiently. on the freeway, as low as possible during heavier due to the additional components Prevision GPS features a separate long-distance haulage. associated with Euro VI. Up to 100 kg CAN bus that allows it to access informa- On the one hand, this measure is suit- lighter than comparable transmissions, tion from the navigation system on able for further reducing in-engine and Traxon is configured for torque substan- topography, route features or even traffic axle-dependent losses, and saving fuel. tially above 3,000 Nm, and is therefore signs. At the same time, the system pro- By contrast, the clutch in first gear with also suitable for markets in which trucks cesses sensor data from the transmission conventional automatic truck transmis- with 60 t gross vehicle weight are in ser- and vehicle, such as acceleration, driving sions would tend to close later as a vice. These current best-in-class figures resistance and load. The system is there- result, i.e. at increasingly higher speeds, are the result of many detailed improve- fore able to prevent inefficient gearshifts, thus impairing the vehicle’s start-up and ments, not least the dual-countershaft such as upshifting, when there is a gen- manoeuvring behaviour and causing design. The compact, concentric clutch tle uphill gradient directly ahead. Previ- greater clutch wear. Traxon resolves this actuator Conact and the omission of a sion GPS also identifies extended, problem with a very high gear spread separate counter disk for the transmission increasingly steeper gradients early on, both in forward and reverse gears: 16.69 input speed further reduced the weight enabling it to shift the transmission to a (12-speed version) and 17.9 (16-speed and the installation length of Traxon, as lower gear in good time. As such, the version) when moving forward constitute did the gear arrangement based on cut- speed loss of laden trucks is reduced on best-in-class figures at present, 2. ting-edge computer models. uphill gradients. Prevision GPS uses the Minimal torque losses are also an The new transmission also features an fuel-saving rolling function only where important factor in more economical driv- innovative mechatronics concept. All the the route topography permits. ing. Across the entire engine speed range important electrical connections are inte- As regards the other software func- and irrespective of the gear ratio, torque grated into the transmission and therefore tions, ZF aimed to deliver improvements losses using Traxon are at least 10 Nm protected against outside influences. The that drivers would notice immediately, lower than conventional reference trans- mechatronics functions are distributed such as improved ride comfort, faster gear missions. This translates into a fuel saving across several modules, which can be changes and the rocking function, 4. of approximately 0.5 l per 100 km. The exchanged separately where necessary. use of two countershafts to split the Valves and sensors are also bundled into power is another unique selling proposi- separate modules. MODULAR ADD-ON OPTIONS tion of Traxon that is crucial in this respect. Furthermore, the engineers have ZF designed the new transmission as a also reduced the churning losses. In light INTELLIGENT AND ANTICIPATORY modular system from the outset. As such, of the high annual mileage of long-dis- TRANSMISSION SOFTWARE an extensive tiered range of application- tance trucks, these detailed improvements specific add-on modules are available for also lead to substantial fuel savings and, Even in the initial concept phases, ZF the basic transmission. in turn, greater economy, 3. focused on cutting-edge transmission The very latest development version of

44 www.autotechreview.com Forwards (1st gear) Reverse (reverse gear) 4.5 4.5 4.34 4.22

3.91 4.0 3.80 4.0

3.5 3.5

3.0 2.86 3.0 2.82 Speed [km/h ] Speed [km/h] 2.57 2.54 2.5 2.5

2.0 2.0 i = 2.59 (today) i = 2.33 (future) i = 2.59 (today) i = 2.33 (future)

Axle ratio Axle ratio

Traxon 12-speed transmission (reverse: with slow reverse gear) Conv. reference transmission 12-speed Optimum maneuvering speed

❷ In the future, axles with smaller gear ratios will be used to reduce engine speed; however, such proceedings will lead to an increase in manoeuvring speed; the high transmission gear spread on Traxon continues to guarantee precise manoeuvring at low speeds

the hydrodynamic, wear-free retarder is This is due to 600 kW of braking while significantly reducing wear and ready for volume production. The power and 4,000 Nm (Power version) of abrasion to the brake linings. The latter optional ZF Intarder with integrated ECU braking torque. Meanwhile, the response pays dividends in terms of environment is tailor-made for the latest commercial time is now no more than 1 s. The and efficiency: the idling losses at 1,500 vehicle requirements, including higher Intarder III dissipates the braking energy rpm are just 1.1 kW. coolant temperatures and more economi- as heat via the engine cooling circuit. As A PTO module installed between the cal uprated engines. The service brake the Intarder is arranged on the transmis- internal combustion engine and the trans- eases the driver’s workload particularly sion output, the braking effect is main- mission provides the opportunity to drive on long downhill sections, slowing the tained even when changing gears. This engine-dependent vehicle PTOs with high vehicle down very efficiently. protects the service brake against fading, torques of up to 2,000 Nm, for instance

Torque losses (gear ratio ~3) Torque losses (direct drive)

10 Nm 10 Nm Torque losses [Nm] Torque losses [Nm]

0 1000 2000 3000 0 1000 2000 3000

Input torque [Nm] Input torque [Nm]

Torque losses to conventional reference transmission Torque losses ZF Traxon (single countershaft concept) (dual countershaft concept)

2000 rpm1500 rp m1000 rp m2000 rp m 1500 rp m 1000 rp m

❸ The concept of the dual countershaft minimises torque losses in the transmission autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 45 Technology TRANSMISSION

Prevision GPS

Without Prevision GPS: Ø 56.9 km/h With Prevision GPS: Ø 62.8 km/h Speed loss when shifting gear on the uphill gradient Current speed [km/h]

12th gear 11th gear

10th gear Two downshifts are necessary on the uphill gradient without Prevision GPS

Route [km] ❹ The anticipatory shifting strategy Prevision GPS prevents unnecessary gearshifts on uphill gradients; the result is fewer gearshifts and a higher average speed

iar industry, market and legal requirements placed on commercial vehicles, and is also equipped to meet long-term challenges. The flexible modular design is based on a basic transmission, which sets the benchmark in terms of its spread of gear ratios, efficiency, power-to-weight ratio and noise. ZF also pursued a holistic approach with Traxon which includes the transmission hardware, mechatronics, and control software, most notably the Previ- sion GPS gearshift strategy. Consequently, Traxon helps to reduce

fuel consumption and CO2 emissions and to cut life cycle costs. The latest generation of the ZF Intarder and the engine-dependent PTO are already avail- ❺ The Traxon basic transmission can be coupled with five modules (from left to right): 1. a single or double-disk clutch, 2. a dual-clutch module, 3. a hybrid module, 4. an engine-dependent PTO, and 5. a able as add-on options. Once supple- torque converter clutch mented with the respective module, the basic transmission is already available as Traxon Torque (with a starting element for heavy goods vehicles) and will for cranes and concrete/fire pumps. ZF mercial vehicle segment for the first time. also be available as Traxon Dual (with a developed Traxon Torque especially for The unit develops 120 kW and is fitted dual clutch) or Traxon Hybrid (with an heavy-duty haulage vehicles. The basic with a separating clutch, 5. electric motor), all of which opens up a transmission is therefore supplemented new range of options for the commercial with a wear-free starting element with a vehicle industry. torque converter clutch. CONCLUSION A dual-clutch module, dubbed Traxon Dual, is planned for the future, which ZF has developed Traxon, an all-new together with the basic transmission will automatic transmission system for heavy facilitate partial load shifts. Traxon Hybrid trucks, which is now ready for volume will enable the electric motor boost func- production. Suited to a wide range of Read this article on tion to make inroads into the heavy com- applications, it meets all of today’s famil- www.autotechreview.com

46 www.autotechreview.com www.autotechreview.com November 2013 | Volume 2 | Issue 11 NOW, ALSO AVAILABLE ON

It’s on 16 INTERVIEW Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Operating Head — Sales & Marketing and Vice President, HMSI

20 STUDY Automobiles: Economic Outlook & Employment Situation

60 NEW VEHICLE Nissan Terrano — More Than Mere Re-Badging

FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS —

DELIVERING POWER & EFFICIENCY POWERED BY EACH

AUTO TECH REVIEW | SPRINGER INDIA PVT. LTD., 7th Floor, Vijaya Building, 17 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi – 110001. Ph: +91 11 45755888 | Fax: +91 11 45755889 Advertising: [email protected] | Editorial: [email protected] | Subscriptions: [email protected] Reach us at: www.autotechreview.com Technology HYBRIDS HONDA SPORT HYBRID — HASTENING TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION

Electric and hybrid vehicles are the poster boys of automotive technology, yet continue to be an albatross around the neck when it comes to sales, barring exceptions such as the Toyota Prius. Key hindrances in adoption of the technology, especially hybrid, have been higher cost of purchase and the lack of a significant increase in fuel-efficiency in real world conditions, in many cases. Honda’s new SPORT HYBRID system though could spark off a change. We explain how.

INTRODUCTION achieved when the Fit Hybrid was is used in the regular and plug-in variants launched in Japan with a claimed fuel- of the Accord Hybrid range. Honda launched the 2014 Accord Hybrid efficiency of 36.4 km/l. A key change in the powertrain pack- range sometime back and laid claim to The SPORT HYBRID system is made age is the new 2 l four-cylinder Atkinson- the ‘most fuel-efficient’ tag in its seg- up of three systems – each designed to cycle engine, which in most cases acts as ment. Honda claims a fuel-efficiency of suit a specific application or class of vehi- a generator. This generator in turn charges 30 km/l for the Accord Hybrid and a cles. Part of the Earth Dreams technology the lithium-ion battery to power the elec- whopping 70.4 km/l for the Accord Plug- portfolio, one of these systems is the Intel- tric motor connected to the wheels. Dur- in Hybrid model. A similar feat was ligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD), which ing medium to high speed cruising,

48 www.autotechreview.com i-MMD can operate solely on the power of available right from the start. the gasoline engine. The biggest change and also a break- off from traditional hybrid architectures ENGINE DRIVE MODE is the new two-motor hybrid configura- tion. This set-up allows a continuous In this mode, the Atkinson cycle engine cycling between three different modes – comes directly into play in relation to EV drive, hybrid drive and engine drive, powering the front wheels. Propulsion is based on various parameters. Honda provided through an electronic CVT unit claims this improves fuel-efficiency sig- with lock-up clutch. Although it’s nificantly, as only the right amount of termed as a transmission, the unit power from the right source is utilised at essentially connects the generator motor any given point of time. and the electric drive motor. This results The hybrid version and the plug-in ver- in direct utilisation of the engine power sion differ only by the size of the on- by the front wheels. 2 l Atkinson cycle engine used in the Accord Hybrid board battery and the inclusion of an on- board charging system and chord in the case of the plug-in variant. The li-ion bat- 2 l ATKINSON-CYCLE ENGINE ROUND-UP tery pack in the regular variant is rated at 1.3 kWh and is charged through the pet- The 2 l Atkinson-cycle engine develops Despite all the challenges surrounding rol engine and regenerative braking. This 141 hp and is claimed to be one of the hybrid technology, one cannot deny that unit is good enough to supplement the most thermal-efficient units in the world. it is one of the most viable technologies to engine, when required under acceleration Based on internal testing, Honda claims act as a bridge to transition to other forms or other situations. the engine to be the most energy efficient of propulsion. Barring few exceptions, The plug-in version features a much mass-produced petrol engine in the hybrid vehicles haven’t been able to give larger 6.7 kWh battery pack and can be world with a rating of 214 g/kWh of 87 fuel-efficiency gains large enough to offset charged through a 120 V outlet in less octane petrol. The Atkinson Cycle the high buying cost over a few years of than three hours. Using a 240 V outlet approach results in enhanced fuel-effi- ownership. Honda’s new technology, would reduce the charging time to under ciency and lower emissions despite a however, has succeeded in setting new an hour. Owners can also remotely moni- trade-off in power. This power deficit benchmarks, which can change the way tor the charging state of their car using though is compensated by the electric people perceive the technology. the free HondaLink EV application for motor explained above. Coupled with the Priced between an approximate band smart phones. With a full-charge, Honda motor, the powertrain system develops a of ` 17.8 lakh and ` 21.3 lakh in the US, claims a range of 21.58 km in the EV drive total output of 196 hp. the Accord Hybrid range isn’t prohibitive, mode. This mode is on while starting The engine itself is part of the Earth considering the additional features from a stop, light cruising & acceleration Dreams technology portfolio and features offered in the hybrid range. Although and during braking. The petrol engine cast-in iron cylinder liners to improve there are no officially declared plans to stays off in the EV mode and is also dis- durability. In line with the aim of bring this technology to India, it could connected from the drivetrain, further improving efficiency and driving pleas- still be on the cards in the medium-hori- reducing friction and increasing efficiency. ure, each journal on the forged steel zon. From a global technical perspective crankshaft undergoes micro-polishing, though, Honda has pushed the hybrid which lowers internal friction. An inter- technology back into a zone of attractive HYBRID MODE nal balancer unit improves the smooth- numbers. What remain to be seen is how ness throughout the rpm range and also this technology performs in the real The electric motor and petrol engine work lowers noise emissions. world over a period of time, and how together in this mode during acceleration Inline four-cylinder engines usually long competition takes to push it further. or high-speed operation. The front wheels have an inherent second-order harmonic Buyers, meanwhile, will continue to get are solely powered by the electric propul- vibration characteristic. In this engine rapidly improving hybrid technology sion motor. The engine, despite being dis- though, this trait has been controlled by over the next few years. connected from the wheels, provides using a pair of chain-driven counter-rotat- energy to the electric generator motor, ing shafts, located in the oil pan. Friction which in turn powers the battery pack. is further reduced by the cylinder bores Text: Arpit Mahendra This method allows for provision of added being offset by 8 mm from the crankshaft, electrical power to the propulsion motor leading to lesser piston sliding friction. or to charge the battery. A key advantage This also improves efficiency since the of using the electric motor to power the connecting rods have a more optimised wheels is that acceleration is more angle during each power stroke, thereby Read this article on responsive since maximum torque is lowering the side load on the piston. www.autotechreview.com autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 49 Event Dupont DUPONT INDIA – COMMITtED TO SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

In their search for sustainable mobility, in water pumps, turbochargers and muf- sibility of working with bio-materials like every manufacturer of vehicles, or their fler systems, among many others. jute and coconuts, which are natural parts, is looking at finding efficient mate- fibres, as reinforcements for future auto- rials, or chasing efficiency in their produc- mobile applications. “These products are tion processes. The focus at the DuPont growth pillars recyclable and burnable. At this point in Innovation Center in Pune and the time tough, we have no such solution DuPont Knowledge Center in Hyderabad Similarly, bio-based chemicals and materi- available,” he said. The knowledge cen- isn’t any different. als, together with advanced materials tre in Hyderabad is equipped with fabri- The American chemical giant, form DuPont’s two of the three strategic cation & development centre, helmet & DuPont, understands the demands of the growth pillars for the future. There are vest fabrication centre, polymers applica- automotive future, and is applying its enough examples of how advanced mate- tion centre, and a paints & coatings cen- attention in areas that would ensure rials have helped change how our vehi- tre, among others. mobility of the future is clean, and sus- cles look today. HP Nanda, Director, Strat- Innovation is at the heart of DuPont’s tainable. One area, where the company egy and Growth Initiatives, DuPont India business philosophy. On last count, the has successfully brought about changes gave us an insight into what could lie company had 38,491 US patents since in terms of material use, is the power- ahead of us: “Our thoughts are around 1802, with 935 of them registered in 2012 train. Over the past three decades, biomass feedstock available in India – say alone. Although the Indian centres are DuPont has led the way in replacing the biomass left over from rice or sugar- relatively new, the company has been metal with high performance engineering cane – and if there are mechanisms to scaling up resources fast, and have iden- plastics in the engine, for instance. commercially, economically and effec- tified seven key focus areas in the auto- From an emissions canister fan in tively produce them to make cellulosic motive business for the future – sustaina- 1980 to cylinder head covers and AC pul- ethanol. This is a technical challenge, and bility, lightweighting, safety, comfort & leys in 1990, or to air-intake manifolds in I believe we have the capability to bring design, improved performance and alter- the mid-90s, DuPont has led the transi- about a solution to this.” native drive. tion to plastics with considerable regular- Replying to a question, Yasuhiko ity. Even in the new millennium, the Ohashi, General Manager, DuPont Inno- Read this article on company has successfully used plastics vation Center in Pune said there is a pos- www.autotechreview.com

50 www.autotechreview.com C

CMY

Advertorial

“SIMCOMVEC will take multiple “SIMCOMVEC IS BRINGING IN A perspectives on the future” MIND-SET FOR OPEN IDEATION”

MR SHRIKANT R MARATHE DR ARUN JAURA Co-Chairman, Steering Committee, Co-Chairman, Organising Committee, SIMCOMVEC & President, SIMCOMVEC and Chairman, Automotive SAEINDIA Board, SAEINDIA

What is SIMCOMVEC likely to do for mobility in the Indian scenario? What is SIMCOMVEC 2013 likely to do for the technological SIMCOMVEC is a show that combines mobility and commercial vehicles, espe- development for the commercial vehicle industry in India? cially considering the importance of the CV sector in our country’s overall SIMCOMVEC is the first ever conference organized by SAEINDIA in the growth. The show aims to bring together the automotive industry stakeholders, country, where we see a convergence of discussions and knowledge researchers and academia onto one platform. The idea is to take multiple per- sharing in personal and commercial mobility technologies, best practices, spectives on the future developmental areas. The event will lead to churning of innovations and processes. The horizontal deployment of technologies and thoughts relevant to our country, since we cannot simply adopt the technolo- knowledge that are competitively priced and prevalent in mass market gies available in other markets. We have specific design and application personal mobility can be deployed through scaling up in the CV space. The requirements and such initiatives will be discussed at the event. Also, this is technical sessions, plenary speeches, and panel discussions have been the first time SAE International has come together with SAE India for this designed to bring in the synergy of information sharing with a special show, marking its acceptance of the Indian market’s importance. focus on innovative solutions and empowering the change through knowledge. SIMCOMVEC is bringing in a mind-set for open ideation for the What kind of boost will SIMCOMVEC provide to the development and mobility fraternity so as to seamlessly exchange implementing opportuni- use of electronics in the Indian auto industry? ties in the CV industry, and this is spearheaded by the efforts of OEMs, There is a special focus on connectivity technologies at SIMCOMVEC as the stakeholders and the value chain partners. automotive industry is presently moving towards electronics. High-end cars today have almost 80 to 85 electronic control units, which are responsible for What are the biggest technological challenges for home grown CV carrying out most of the important functions. Hence, electronics is bound to makers in India? gain increased usage in India across vehicle segments. In line with the The technological challenges are tied into the sustainability aspects and growing importance of this area, SIMCOMVEC has laid special focus in this affordability of some of these technologies in CV space. Deploying technolo- field. gies for fuel efficient powertrains, more power-to-weight ratio, safety technologies, cabin comfort, hauling loads and emission norms in the cost What’s your take on driver assistance system and their relevance to boundaries defined by the Indian ecosphere is an opportunity. Since most of the Indian market? the CV owners in India employ drivers for their vehicles, some of these tech- There are multiple forms of such systems available in the market presently, nology enhancements are considered a luxury many times, although they but not all of them make sense for India. This is because of the heterogeneous help efficiency and safety of occupants, vehicles and pedestrians. The use nature of the traffic in our country and the lack of driving discipline. Also, of Intelligent Transportation Solutions on expressways and bus stations is an technologies such as lane guidance system can’t work in India since our roads opportunity that the passenger bus industry has to exploit to its fullest. do have proper lane markings. Hence such systems are unlikely to make a Hybrids and electric mobility is another opportunity that is waiting for the CV major impact in India. We also need to ensure that the driver assistance industry and public mobility. Often many of the technologies are faced with systems introduced are designed to assist drivers in Indian conditions and not the problem of economies of scale, and so tend to hit a road block. Today, just flaunt the engineering capabilities of a company. An example is that most the CV makers are balancing cost, technology, need and aspirations of con- CVs and buses didn’t have a power steering system, but since its introduction, sumers, regulators and JV partners that want to make an impact in India life has become significantly better for drivers, while improving road safety. through affordable deployment. That said safety systems such as ABS will soon see increased adoption as volumes go up and costs are lowered. Are Indian suppliers geared up to face challenges from global suppliers, especially with technologies for the future? What kind of contribution do you visualise from Indian companies in Indian suppliers in the value chain are bringing in technologies and pro- relation to electric mobility? cesses that are apt to the ecosphere by partnering with experts and global All major companies are presently working on the electric and hybrid vehicle suppliers, thus using the knowledge worldwide and by training home grown technology and Indian contribution will be quite significant, but only in areas talent. The growth that India is going through has created avenues to relevant to our country. For example, battery management systems required in partner with global suppliers in India. This has benefited both ways since India will be vastly different from the one offered in other regions, given our many of these developments in India by global and domestic suppliers are climatic and traffic conditions. However, systems such as batteries and being deployed in mature markets for cost competitiveness. The exchange of motors will not undergo any significant change here. Hence, the hardware for ideas and thoughts for policies and regulations has opened several vistas of electric mobility will be mostly similar but the opportunity for us lies in the opportunities for domestic suppliers. There is of course room for growth and software, control and application aspect. innovation in the country.

SHOPFLOOR heLla india HELLA INDIA AUTOMOTIVE — PUTTING TECHNOLOGY FIRST

Progressing from a component level supplier to system supplier in a complex area such as electronics takes much more than investing money. Such transformations can only be erected on foundations of strong technical expertise and process-driven operations. Our visit to Hella India Automotive’s (HIA) plant in Dhankot, Haryana also revealed the magnitude of transformation planned over the next few years.

56 www.autotechreview.com INTRODUCTION

Innovator of numerous technologies and one of the Top 50 global automotive suppliers, German major Hella’s presence in the Indian market has been long standing. Since its entry into India in 1959, through a JV – which was subsequently dissolved in 2005 – Hella India Automotive has taken many significant steps to expand its portfolio beyond horns, which it’s widely known for in India. While it has steadily expanded its portfolio, the company itself is transitioning from being a component supplier to a system supplier. Hella India Automotive (HIA) is presently betting its future on electronics as vehicular functions are increasingly adopting the electronic architecture. The bly set-up, and presently produces a wide company already has a stronghold in the portfolio of products including horns, sen- area of horns, for which the Dhankot sors, accelerator pedal sensors, climate plant is the single point of supply for the sensors, actuators, switches, body control company’s global demand. Expectedly, module (BCM) and remote keyless entry the horn business has a 35:65 split (RKE) systems. between export and domestic demand. Product testing is carried out for each Going forward, the company has plans to and every part/system produced and enter complex electronic system areas and these end-of-line testing parameters too has already started making investments extend beyond the scope outlined by the towards the same. At the plant, we inter- customer. This is done to ensure optimum acted with Karan K Anand, Plant Head, durability even in conditions worse than HIA, who gave us an insight into the kind those stated by a customer. The ability to of changes the Dhankot plant is undergo- frame such testing parameters comes from ing presently as it gears up for the next the decades of experience Hella has gath- phase of growth. ered in various geographies across the world, said Anand. From a quality perspective, HIA ensures there is absolutely PLANT & INFRASTRUCTURE no difference in the products Hella makes elsewhere in the world, and the ones Located in Dhankot district, on the Gur- made here in India. gaon Farookhnagar Road, HIA’s plant is spread across an area of 19 acre. The plant presently has an old standing build- MANUFACTURING PROCESS ing, which manufactures horns and a new set-up that is responsible for manufactur- Given the strong focus of HIA on increasing electronic systems and components. ing its production of electronic systems, The Dhankot plant is primarily an assem- we first visited the facility, which makes

Machines used to make the PCBs are flown in and not shipped to prevent corrosion due to salty ocean waters autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 57 SHOPFLOOR heLla india

can insert up to 236 pins in each panel in just 38 s. In addition, it can insert up to four types of pins in a single go, leading to shorter manufacturing times. The next facility to be visited was the one making accelerator pedal sensors (APS), for which HIA is the market leader being the single source supplier to Maruti Suzuki. A design change we were shown by Anand was the usage of metal rod in the accelerator pedal assembly instead of just offering plastic moulds. This has been done only for the Indian market by Hella and the type depends on the volumes of an OEM. The non-electronic parts are sourced by HIA and assembled into the final unit for supply to customers. Interestingly, before production starts, all child parts are kept in a controlled temperature and humidity environment for 48 hr. This ensures that different mate- With the ability to insert up to 236 pins of four types in 38 s, this machine is the only one of its kind in India rials do not react in an unwanted manner to elements such as moisture over pro- longed exposure. Production capacity for the BCMs and RKEs. Since the facility the parts are surrounded by nitrogen gas APS is presently rated at about 700,000 makes electronic components, anyone in order to prevent oxidisation, leading units per annum. With the latest genera- visiting the set-up needs to get an elec- to better quality levels. tion of APS to go into production next tronic static discharge clearance, which Once the PCB is ready, it is put year, capacity will go up by a further is obtained by wearing specially through an automatic optical inspection 600,000 or so. designed clothes and devices. This line (AOI) machine, which is the first of its At the plant we also visited the head is almost automated in nature and kind in India. Close to the end of produc- lamp leveller and central locking system human intervention is only limited to tion process, the PCB goes through a de- unit, which employ a flexible manufac- processes such as loading and unload- panelling machine, which automatically turing system. Within this system, a mix ing. Once the printed circuit board (PCB) cuts 40 circuits out of each board. An of automation and human labour is is loaded in the machine, it first goes interesting technical fact about these PCBs involved, based on the cost benefits. through a traceability marking, done by is that they use connector pins instead of Such a flexible system also allows for a laser. Post this, the part is sent to a connectors, which prevents loosening high production output of about 10,000 reflow oven and passes through four dif- over a period of time. The machine used headlamp leveller units on a daily basis. ferent heat zones to ensure proper bond- to carry out this pin insertion process too For headlamp levellers, HIA is a Tier II ing by the paste applied. In this oven, is one of its kinds in the country, since it supplier, reflecting its ability to cover a

Testing is carried out for 100 % of the plant's production Traceability is marked in using advanced technologies such as laser

58 www.autotechreview.com The infrastructure at the plant enables HIA to test components up to the finest possible limits, leading to higher quality output

production spectrum spanning small proportional investment of € five million about 25 % by 2017-18. Anand made it components to highly complex systems last year and will invest a similar clear that the future at HIA is electronics such BCMs. amount this year as well. and all efforts are being made to make The Dhankot plant is also equipped A product being made specifically for that happen at the earliest. with a comprehensive testing set-up, the Indian market is the mood lighting Such is the focus that horns too will which ensures products perform up to, system, which will first be introduced in migrate from the present electro- or beyond, customer expectations. Inter- the aftermarket, followed by OE orders. mechanical architecture to fully elec- nally known as the endurance test lab, This will be the first time Hella will add tronic. Energisation in horns, which the facility has a host of machines such a product to its portfolio as Indian presently takes place through coil, will designed to simulate years of wear and consumers increasingly look at person- later be done by a circuit. From a pro- tear on components in various atmos- alising and enhancing their cabin duction perspective too, HIA is well pheric conditions. Products are tested in experience. geared to meet increasing demands at ambient temperature as well as an envi- HIA also considers the electric vehicle the existing plant with over 80 % of the ronmental chamber to study the effect of segment to be a good opportunity for land still available for development. a wide range of temperature on the oper- two reasons – the ability to leverage Hel- Our day spent at the Dhankot plant ating efficiency. la’s global experience in the domain and made it clear that HIA is a rapidly pro- the National Electric Mobility Mission gressive company, moving in the right Plan 2020, said Anand. The company directions. It’s common to see compa- PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & plans to eventually move into products nies progressing into advanced versions FUTURE PLANS such as battery management systems and forms of products they presently and intelligent battery systems. As more make. HIA’s progress though isn’t com- The move towards electronics requires a companies and the government move mon in nature since not every company higher understanding of vehicle design closer to electric mobility, HIA aims to be takes up the challenge to move into a and architecture, said Anand. This ready with the required technology, even technically demanding area such as allows the company to work closely if the pace of progress is slow. electronics in a market such as India. with OEMs to understand the vehicle As demand grows and volumes start It’s so because all forms of systems are requirements. This graduation has been to flow, localisation would go up. The put to an extreme test due to our harsh made possible primarily due to the R&D company will also launch products climatic and usage patterns. The posi- set-up in Pune, which caters to global aimed at improving fuel efficiency of tive for HIA is that it is laying a strong requirements. Since this centre has been conventional vehicles with products focus on technology development. More working on electronic systems for global such as fuel control system. This system importantly, HIA is not waiting to follow markets, technology was never a chal- can not only help achieve a fuel-saving demand but is leading by example and lenge for HIA, said Anand. Another of up to 3 %, but can also contribute to such attitude bodes well for the compa- R&D set-up in Chennai is also opera- lightweighting. This product, however, ny’s chances of achieving its goal of tional, which works in the lighting is expected to pick up in the next five more than three-fold growth by 2017-18. domain. The global expertise of the cen- years or so as OEMs look for ways to tre played a key role in development of enhance efficiency further. advanced products such as BCM and RKE as design was never an uphill task. Text: Arpit Mahendra In the years to come, HIA plans to OUTLOOK Photo: Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay increase its annual turnover by about 20 %, enabling it to grow from the present HIA is presently on a clearly charted out size of about € 30 mn (approximately road to develop itself as a system supplier 253 cr) to about € 100 mn (approxi- with a key focus on electronics. Electron- mately 843 cr). In order to achieve this ics presently accounts for only about 5 % Read this article on goal by 2017-18, the company made a of total sales but is expected to increase to www.autotechreview.com autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 59 NEW VEHICLE nissan terrano NISSAN TERRANO — MORE THAN MERE RE-BADGING

Badge-engineering isn’t a new concept in India, especially within the Renault-Nissan alliance. Nissan’s Micra and Sunny models co-exist with Renault’s Pulse and Scala. Nissan has now gone on record to say the Terrano will be the last cross-badged product in India, at least in the near term. Meanwhile, the success of the Renault Duster, and what it did to the Indian SUV market, is unparalleled. Can Nissan reinvigorate the SUV market with the Terrano? We find out.

60 www.autotechreview.com INTRODUCTION

The latest addition to the badge-engineered product range within the Renault- Nissan alliance is the Nissan Terrano, which has been positioned by the company as a premium compact SUV. On the inside, the Terrano is actually a rebadged version of the Renault Duster, which in turn is a rebadged version of the Dacia Duster, which even further is a vehicle based on the Renault-Nissan’s B0 platform. Confusing it may sound but it works for some companies and if initial numbers are anything to go by, Nissan has a winner on hands. About 6,000 pre- launch bookings bode well for the future Combination of redesigned panels and new alloy wheeles lend the Terrano with a good rear view of any vehicle in India. These numbers do not come as a surprise to us given the kind of growth being experienced in the compact SUV segment. Nissan seems to have arrived right in the middle of a carnival. We were invited by the company to drive the Terrano in Udaipur, where we put the vehicle through an extensive test in order to find out if it’s really different and premium as the company claims. Headlamp and tail lamp design sharpen the exterior look of the Terrano significantly

DESIGN section. The roof rails, skid plates and the make any notable changes, given the new 16-inch machined-alloy wheels too good acceptance of the unit. The key rea- Unlike most badge-engineered vehicles, go along well with Nissan’s design theme son, leading to different power outputs is Nissan made the effort of redesigning a for the Terrano. the difference in turbo geometry. While large number of body panels. Being the The detailed approach of Nissan the lesser powerful unit sports a fixed most extensively reworked area of the Ter- towards design, despite being a shared geometry turbocharger, the more power- rano, the exterior sports a distinct visual platform, seems to have paid dividends. A ful one features a variable geometry unit. identity compared to its French-branded lot of work has actually gone into making Other changes include stronger internals sibling. Reminiscent of Nissan’s Path- the exterior appealing, and different from to handle the additional boost and finder styling, the Terrano comes across the Renault Duster. power. as one of the sharpest-looking vehicles to On the road, the 84 hp variant is have spawned from the B0 platform. more suited to city-driving. This is The front-end is largely dominated by POWERTRAIN because the engine develops its 200 Nm Nissan’s V-motion design, which starting of torque at 1,900 rpm, and hence from the grille moves across the bonnet. The Terrano range in India will feature requires lesser shifting. The other ver- Sharp headlamp design in tandem with a similar powertrain options to the ones sion develops a much higher 248 Nm of chrome-finished grille help exude an air found in the Duster. These consist of a 1.6 torque, but kicks in at a higher 2,250 of premium look. Sideways, the rede- l petrol engine developing about 104 hp rpm. Due to the torque surging in later, signed door panels with a shoulder line and a 1.5 l diesel engine in two states of the 108 hp variant displays a noticeable and wheel arches, add mildly to the rug- tune, offering 84 hp and 108 hp. During lag but once in the optimum band, ged looks. The side profile, however, the drive event, we weren’t able to sam- power delivery is quite hurried, making doesn’t look that attractive or distinct as ple the petrol variant. Also, quite certainly overtaking an easy task. Past 4,000 rpm the front does, and somehow doesn’t sync this variant would be the slowest mover though, the power tapers off and the completely with the front either. The rear off the showroom, given the popularity of motor too loses some of its smoothness. tail lamps too have been redesigned and diesel SUVs. A common issue with both the engine while their sole design may not be too The 1.5 l K9K diesel engine from the versions is the slightly heavy clutch, special, their integration and positioning alliance is the same as found in the which might be bothersome during long helps in offering a dynamic appeal to the Renault Duster, and Nissan chose not to durations in stop-go traffic. The transmis- autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 61 NEW VEHICLE nissan terrano

sion too is different in both variants as Overall fit and finish levels are better than the lesser powerful version is equipped some of the larger SUVs in the same price with a five-speed manual unit, while bracket. Ingress and egress is a breeze at the other unit gets a six-speed manual the front but not that great at the rear. gearbox. Both units offer acceptable The seats at the front are supportive and smoothness and throw dis- offer good lateral and side support. At the tances, with the six-speed unit rear, legroom is acceptable by segment being significantly better. The standards and the seats are good for 108 hp engine really shines on usage over long durations. The the highway, making it easier to boot, with its ability to expand cruise at higher speeds in compari- from 475 l to 1065 l, offers gener- son with the 84 hp variant. ous space and flexibility. Another area, which showcased The placement of a few compo- Nissan’s focus on offering a premium nents in the compartment, nonethe- product, were the impressively low less, demands a relook. The power NVH levels. Nissan seems to have put window button console, for instance, is in a good effort in this area, owing to oddly placed way forward than normal. which the cabin stays largely insu- The rear buttons in contrast have been lated from the audible effects of the placed way backwards. As a result, the engine and nature’s forces at work. This front occupants will have to stretch their would be greatly appreciated by consum- Reference image of the 1.5 l K9K diesel engine arms while the rear occupants will end up ers, when being justified the additional hitting the button accidentally with their cost over the Duster at showrooms. elbows. The ORVM button is again oddly offer beige fabric upholstery. The base placed somewhat beneath the handbrake XE version features black upholstery and lever and again doesn’t offer a seamless INTERIOR that too looks quite impressive. operation. There are some more small The piano black centre console, along bits, which lower the overall ergonomic Interior is another area, where Nissan with the chrome surrounded air vents, efficiency further. Consumers would adapt has made an attempt to convince the adds an elegant touch to the cabin. The to these over time, but the company buyer of its premium badging. Despite material used on the door handle along would do well by correcting these some prominent bits such as the meter with its texture left us wanting for more inconveniences. console and the steering wheel being the in the 84 hp variant, but was significantly same as in the Duster, the Terrano’s better in the 108 hp one. The more pow- cabin does look different. The top vari- erful variant also gives consumers the DYNAMICS ant of the 108 hp version comes with comfort of a rear AC vent, which is more beige leather upholstery, while the rest than just a blower as seen on the Sunny. The Terrano drives almost like a car and

Subtle changes to the centre console and other few bits succeed in imaprting a plush feel to the cabin by segment standards

62 www.autotechreview.com The overall design language for the Terrano reflects the inspiration from the larger Pathfinder SUV from the Nissan stable

that is primarily down to its monocoque and doesn’t wallow over minor undula- numbers could’ve been buoyed by multi- construction. The front suspension is an tions at high speeds on the highways. The ple factors apart from the product itself. A independent McPherson strut and the rear electro-hydraulic steering offers good feed- key one among those is the long-waiting is a torsion beam axle, both, with coil back and weighs up decently as speeds period of the Ford EcoSport, and since the springs and anti-roll bars. Ride quality build up. The stock MRF Wanderer tyres Duster has been around for a while, a despite being on the firmer side isn’t too offer good levels of grip and during a new product is usually seen with greater unsettling, and the suspension stays pli- high-speed sharp turn, ensured the vehi- initial excitement. ant over most surfaces. cle doesn’t leave its line. That said, the Terrano is a good We drove the Terrano at a fairly brisk The overall dynamics of the Terrano attempt by Nissan to offer a rebadged pace through some narrow and twisting are quite impressive and consumers will vehicle with better offerings for the extra roads in the Aravali range of hills and appreciate the right mix of balanced money. It is visible that Nissan has taken were thoroughly impressed. Body-roll, dynamics with an adequately comforta- time to understand the requirements of although evident, is easily manageable ble ride. the consumers and made changes accord- and nose-dive during hard braking too is ingly. The idea behind launching well within acceptable limits. The steering rebadged vehicles is that development is pretty direct, allowing one to turn confi- OUTLOOK costs are significantly reduced. What dently. Despite a high polar moment of effect the effort of redesigning the panels inertia (partly due to the FWD layout), It would be too early to declare the Ter- and other elements has had on the cost- the Terrano is well composed over bends rano a long-term winner since its initial effectiveness is unknown to us. What is known though is that Nissan’s strategy has paid off, at least initially, looking at the pre-booking numbers. The Terrano on its own comes across as a product, which lives up to most of the claims made by its manufacturer. Of course, there are some bits such as the ergonomics, which could’ve been better but the existing good bits eclipse the shortcomings. Priced in a range of ` 9.6 lakh and ` 12.46 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi, the Terrano offers good value for money for those looking for a smart compact SUV without giving up on the com- forts and driving pleasure of a car.

Text & PHOTO: Arpit Mahendra, Deepangshu Dev Sarmah

Read this article on Side profile doesn't manage the same level of distinction as the front does www.autotechreview.com autotechreview November 2013 Volume 2 | Issue 11 63 DECODING TECHNOLOGY

STYLING FOR COEFFICIENT OF DRAG REDUCTION

DR ARUN JAURA Styling of a vehicle plays a key role in pressure and a receding rear end to Managing Director and Founder, TRAKTION Management Services the cost of vehicle ownership. The eco- avoid vacuum and any turbulence. Private Limited (TRAKTION) nomics of ownership experience depends Stacking up these parameters provides a on vehicle fuel economy, which in turn cumulative Cd. For most of the better- depends on styling to a large extent. This styled passenger vehicles, Cd is between may come as a surprise to many but 0.26 and 0.28. speed driving since the vehicle tends shape of the vehicle through styling can Hood scoops are common styling pat- to get lighter at the rear end otherwise. reduce Coefficient of Drag (Cd), besides terns and useful for high volume air An abruptly cut-off rear end forces air enhancing aesthetics and affecting vehi- flow. They were common in race cars flow into turbulence to create more cle performance attributes. but now implemented in many super- drag instead of a gradual receding. The Data shows that on an expressway, charged and turbocharged vehicles. spoiler functions as a diffuser to reduce driving driveline consumes about 15 % NACA (National Advisory Committee for turbulence and vacuum behind the of total vehicle energy, 25 % through Aeronautics) ducts increase the air flow vehicle. tyre rolling resistance, and 60 % rate without disturbing the boundary Unfortunately, the coolest looking through Cd. Besides Cd, other parame- layer. NACA ducts are deployed where spoke wheels are bad for Cd. The cover- ters such as powertrain, vehicle weight there is no direct ram air access. ing of open wheels is important to and vehicle rolling resistance that influ- An interesting design and styling evo- reduce Cd. The best wheel cover is ence fuel economy are not being dis- lution in passenger vehicles has been to slightly convex and smooth flush fit with cussed in this article. push down the nose of the vehicle as it tires. Many concept vehicles have styled Cd acts parallel to the vehicle and in helps increasing road grip, permits covered wheels to portray low fuel econ- the same direction as airflow. At higher greater driver visibility and increases omy character. For Cd reduction, it is speeds, Cd is more critical since it pedestrian and occupant safety. equally important to review the under- increases at square of vehicle speed. Cd For pickup trucks, a hard cover for body design, as it is for exteriors and should be a top vehicle parameter in the bed helps reduce Cd. Vehicles with interiors. Either a body pan or belly pan product design specification. Note that a rear spoiler, especially the SUVs and underneath the vehicle is important for Cd reduction is possible only to an minivans, have shown reduction of drag low ground clearance vehicles. extent, after that it affects occupant by 5 %, when traveling at 100 km/h. Trendy styling is an aspiration and comfort and safety, systems under Spoilers are also used in sedans and foundation of ownership experience. The hood, line of sight, pedestrian safety, serve as barriers to air flow. In sedans, appealing combination is to make heads and manufacturing. spoilers also help in better ride and turn to look at the vehicle and have the Intrinsically, styling can integrate sev- handling, and stability during high best fuel economy. eral actions and accessories to influence Cd. Styling is a customer-centric itera- tive interaction with manufacturing, design and development, marketing and branding teams.

MINIMISED Cd

The vehicle must have a small frontal grill to help minimise frontal pressure, lowest ground clearance to minimise air flow underneath vehicle, an air dam to create low pressure under vehicle, obtuse windshield to prevent frontal

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