Scalable Architecture Approach with Platform Products to Implement Advanced Car-Body E&E System in Emerging Markets

Abstract

With the dramatic development of the passenger vehicle industry in emerging countries—(“BRIC” as it is also known) indicating the fast developing passenger vehicle market in Brazil, Russia, India and China, simple vehicle E&E system architectures are no longer sufficient to fulfill the demands from the market for fancy vehicle features such as Passive Start and Entry System (PASE). That in effect requires support from advanced car body E&E systems. However, traditional implementation of advanced car body E&E systems in developed markets, e.g. EU countries, requires high R&D efforts due to the complexity of the system and diversity of the architectures and requirements. Furthermore, take rates of advanced car body features in the low cost car segment (Affordable CAR) are also an undetermined factor, which makes the situation more complicated for advanced car body E&E architecture designs for this market. Thus the conflict of high system implementation, cost for advanced car body features as well as the low system cost demand from low cost car segments, and the uncertain take rates of advanced car body features in low cost car segments are becoming the major topics to be resolved by every E&E system supplier and vehicle manufacturer in BRIC markets. This paper describes a system implementation concept to resolve the above issue using a scalable architecture approach with platform products from the Affordable CAR segment. By using a scalable architecture approach, the advanced car body E&E system implementation cost could be invested in a step-wise way, which reduces the risk of uncertainty of take rate of advanced car body feature deployment in the low cost car segment. By using a platform products the total system development costs can be controlled in an acceptable level, which can make advanced car body feature deployment in the low cost car segment become reality. An example of a scalable system approach to implement different levels of car body E&E system by using products from Continental low cost platform family is also illustrated in this paper. A scalable stepwise system approach is described for Remote Keyless Entry and Immobilizer system as 1st step, Engine Start Stop and Push Button Start system as 2nd step and finally complete PASE system as the last step is illustrated here. The concept of system function/feature integration, its scalability, and key factors to be considered for optimum level of functional integration are described. The evolution of platform products, benefits for passenger vehicle manufactures and its scalability for implementations of E&E system for Affordable CAR vehicle segments are explained.

F2012-D01-006.