PRODUCTION NEWS GM AND PSA SIGN TECH SHARING DEAL GM Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroën have announced the creation of a long-term strategic alliance that will ultimately aim to improve the profitability of both OEMs, as well as boost their overall competitiveness in Europe. The agreement will also see GM become the second largest shareholder in PSA by securing a 7% stake. The groundbreaking alliance is structured around two main pillars: the sharing of vehicle platforms, components, and modules – and this includes powertrain development and the creation of a global purchasing joint venture for the sourcing of commodities, components and other goods and services from suppliers, with combined annual purchasing volumes of approximately US$125 billion. Initially, the partners will focus on small and mid-size passenger cars, MPVs and crossovers. The companies will also consider developing a new common platform for low-emission vehicles, with the first vehicle on a common platform expected in 2016.
FUEL CELL JV FORMED BY INTELLIGENT ENERGY AND SUZUKI Intelligent Energy and the Suzuki have announced the creation of a joint venture company called SMILE FC System Corporation, which aims to develop and manufacture air-cooled fuel cell systems for a range of industry sectors. The JV will also include a non-exclusive license agreement that gives Suzuki access to Intelligent Energy’s advanced fuel cell technology for its next generation of fuel cell vehicles. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will take a 50% stake in SMILE FC System, which will be led by Osamu Honda, executive VP and representative director for Suzuki, who will become president of the JV. SMILE will be headquartered in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka, with operations initially based in Yokohama. “Suzuki Motor Corporation has been developing fuel cell vehicles with Intelligent Energy since 2006, and this successful relationship has led to the formation of SMILE FC System Corporation,” explained Honda. “I believe that we can accelerate the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles through this joint venture with Intelligent Energy.” Commentators say the agreement represents good value for both parties, enabling Suzuki cost-effective access to Intelligent Energy’s advanced fuel cell technology through partnering and licensing, thereby avoiding the higher costs associated with in-house development. Intelligent Energy will benefit from Suzuki’s production expertise and the emerging Japanese supply chain to jointly develop the next generation of automotive standard air-cooled fuel cell systems. Phil Caldwell, newly appointed board member of SMILE FC System Corporation and business development director at Intelligent Energy, commented, “This joint venture is the latest exciting development in the successful relationship between Intelligent Energy and Suzuki, which has previously resulted in the Crosscage motorcycle and the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter. It is a big step toward the mass production of automotive fuel cell systems.”
VW GROUP REVEALS MODULAR TRANSVERSE MATRIX VW Group has unveiled an all-new architecture that will allow the German OEM and its mainstream brands to develop a raft of new models that feature transverse-mounted engines. Known as the Modular Transverse Matrix, which in German translates to Modularer Querbaukasten (MQB), the architecture promises to optimize production costs and processes by allowing Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, and SEAT to share more components, subsystems and technologies, including those relating to the powertrain. VW says MQB represents a turning point in the design and production of future automobiles with transverse-mounted engines. It extends from the A0 segment range through to the B segment. Within the VW brand, that will currently include the likes of the Polo, Beetle, Golf, Scirocco, Jetta, Tiguan, Touran, Sharan, Passat and Passat CC. The German OEM says that in the future, all of these models could theoretically be produced on the same assembly line – despite
their different wheelbases and track widths, and this will also apply to A0 and B segment vehicles from Audi, Škoda and SEAT. The first new vehicle to be produced based on MQB is the all-new Audi A3, which made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, and the nextgeneration Golf, which say industry insiders, is due to be unveiled later this year. On a powertrain front, two systems integrated in the MQB strategy that play a key role within the new architecture are the modular petrol engines with the new EA211 – and this includes the world’s first four-cylinder engine with cylinder deactivation – and the modular diesel engine system with the new EA288
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family. VW claims that in one swoop, the new engine series will reduce the group’s engine and gearbox variants in MQB by 90% without a detrimental effect. In addition to standardizing IC engine production, MQB also enables an identical mounting position for all current alternative drive designs without limitations, so this covers natural gas and hybrid versions as well as pure electric drive.