Economy and efficiency are the focus of the international automotive supplier Continental at this year’s IAA. In hall 17 booth A06/B05, on an area of 600 m2, Continental presents numerous innovative technologies, products and services, with which the manufacturers of commercial vehicles can make their vehicles safer, more economical and cleaner, as well as network them more intelligently for easier operation. The motto of the presentation is “One Goal: Efficiency”.
The automotive supplier presents its technological innovations for the automotive megatrends of Safety, Environment, Information and the industry trend of Efficiency. Innovative driver assistance and braking systems, vehicle networking and operating concepts, drive technologies, sensors, interior trim materials and tyres are just some of the innovations on display.
“Only when trucks, vans or buses are less involved in accidents, keep their fuel consumption as low as possible and have clever data exchange with the driver and environment, can they actually be operated economically with reduced operating costs and thereby achieve the effectively lowest overall costs,” explained Dr. Elmar Degenhart, Chairman of the Executive Board of Continental. “With our IAA participation this year, with the focus on the industry-relevant topic ‘Efficiency’, we would like to show that, thanks to our wide product range and our systems expertise, we can offer our customers solutions that improve the efficiency of commercial vehicles.”
The highlight as far as Efficiency is concerned is the preview of the forthcoming Continental tyre generation for omnibuses and trucks. For the first time at IAA, Continental will display tyres of the 3rd generation. With the new tyres, which will be gradually introduced to the market from mid-2013, the company will incorporate state-of-the-art tyres as regards efficiency, safety and comfort into its world-wide product range. With tyres of the 3rd generation, customers will have products at their disposal that have been developed and optimized for the target group, which simplify the work of those in charge of vehicle fleets, from tire selection to service solutions.
As an important service solution, Continental presents the fleet management system Conti 360° Fleet Services. The system offers modular services which enable individual and expert tyre management specific to the needs of customers. The fleet operator thus ensures that the condition of his vehicles’ tyres is constantly optimized, the administrative workload and expenses are low, and the costs are easily calculable. Meanwhile, the mobility service for fleets with international operations is available in 13 European countries.
In the “Safety” megatrend area of the trade fair booth, the focus is on driver assistance and braking systems. The highlight is the MK 100 ESC XT electronic braking system which Continental will present at IAA for the first time. Volume production of the system is slated to get underway in 2015. It is an extension of the modular and scalable MK 100 product family, which allows the use of the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) in all vehicle categories and thereby even saves space and weight.
Products and solutions aimed at reducing CO2 emissions are presented in the “Environment” megatrend area. Continental thus demonstrates systems expertise with innovative solutions for exhaust gas aftertreatment, which help in complying with exhaust standards such as Euro VI (2013) and US10 /Tier4f. The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and diesel particulate filters (DPF), which remove particulate emissions from truck exhaust fumes, play a key role here. In SCR, a watery urea solution (AdBlue) is injected in the exhaust gas flow to be able to transform nitrogen oxides in a catalytic converter.
Continental delivers important components for this purpose: From 2013 onward, newly developed AdBlue injectors with air cooling for light-duty use will enter mass production. At the same time, Continental is developing a water-cooled version for use in trucks. ContiTech’s heatable hose line modules also form part of the SCR systems expertise.
Other trade fair highlights also aid environmental protection: For example, the newly developed fuel quality sensor can be used to determine the quality of fuel and thus optimize fuel injection. New types of air spring systems with plastic pistons save up to 12 kg of weight per axle and thus cut fuel consumption. The use of renewable resources for interior trim materials in driver’s cabs is an additional contribution to a more environment-friendly vehicle.
The “Information” megatrend area is primarily devoted to vehicle networking and operating concepts. For the first time, Continental will be presenting an intelligent camera system for commercial vehicles at IAA. With this camera system, the driver receives 360-degree visibility around his commercial vehicle in real time. This will help truck drivers during manoeuvring, bus drivers during safe departure from crowded bus stops and drivers of construction vehicles in the centimeter-accurate positioning of their machines.
An efficient control computer that adds up the digital signals of the cameras to a 2D or 3D image works in the background. The new system thus gives the commercial vehicle driver a bird’s eye-view of critical situations.
Within the scope of the megatrend Information, Continental also presents numerous product developments related to intelligent transport systems (ITS), tire pressure monitoring systems and new studies for the commercial vehicle cockpits of the future.
With sales of Euro 30.5 billion in 2011, Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tyres and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. It is also an expert partner in networked automobile communication and currently employs approximately 169,000 persons in 46 countries.