LAS VEGAS — Major auto parts supplier executives told audiences at CES this week that they are working to reinvent their companies for the electric and connected age.
Below are highlights from three news conferences held by some of the industry's biggest suppliers.
German supplier ZF Group unveiled its next-generation autonomous shuttle, a move that signals it remains confident in the role self-driving technology can play — even as other auto companies, including the Ford and VW-backed self-driving startup Argo AI, scale back their ambitions.
ZF aims to deploy "several thousand" shuttles in the U.S. in the coming years, partnering with the Florida autonomous shuttle operator Beep to help bring the vehicle to market. The shuttle is designed for use on city roads, with options for battery capacity of 50 or 100 kilowatt-hours, providing 80 miles of electric battery range. The shuttles can fit up to 22 people.
ZF, which has invested significantly in autonomous shuttle services in recent years, says such a shuttle can be "an essential contribution" to hit sustainability targets, said Torsten Gollewski, head of ZF's autonomous mobility solutions.
"Today in cities all over the world, we see a mobility approach that simply doesn't work anymore," he said. "There's simply too little space, too much pollution, a high stress level, traffic which seems to collapse under the sheer mass of vehicles, and a lack of drivers for transportation."
ZF, the world's third-largest parts supplier, is betting that shuttles will help move people more efficiently, serving as either a complement to existing mass transit or as a cheaper alternative.
French supplier Forvia said it will work with different communities around the world to learn what vehicle interiors they would like to see, and use that input to turn those ideas into actual products, CEO Patrick Koller said at the Las Vegas show.
Forvia will seek new ideas through events such as hackathons, Koller said. The company will focus on improved accessibility, better use of physical space, types of materials used and possible retrofit solutions.
"We want them to tell us what the good ideas are," Koller said of the communities it plans to solicit. "We will assess those ideas and will do proof-of-concepts, and we will scale up the best ideas. And we will reward the people who had the idea originally."
Direct outreach to consumers of different backgrounds around the world will help to provide Forvia a "significant boost" as it looks to tailor its products to the desires of drivers.
"We're doing this to better understand what matters to people," he said.
Forvia, which was formed from Faurecia's acquisition of Hella last year, ranks No. 7 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers.
Robert Bosch, the world's largest auto supplier, is doubling down on its sensor business as demand for sensors skyrockets in the auto industry.
Bosch expects the market for sensors to grow to more than $400 billion worldwide by 2030. The company has long been a leader in the space — the average vehicle today contains 22 of Bosch's MEMS sensors. But it is looking to grow its market share as it invests more than $3 billion in its semiconductor business, which includes sensor development and manufacturing.
The company used CES to unveil a new, sensor-based RideCare "companion solution," which uses sensors and a software algorithm to "quickly and reliably detect the exact angle" of an imminent side collision and deploy an airbag at the precise moment needed to prevent injury, among other benefits.
"Sensors form the backbone of our connected world," Bosch North America head Mike Mansuetti said Wednesday. "And as their capabilities increase, so, too, does their importance."
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