Auburn Hills-based Nexteer, a multi-billion-dollar global steering and driveline company, has announced a joint effort with international automotive supplier Continental, which operates a large engineering center in Auburn Hills, to create new motion control systems.
During a press conference today at the 2017 North American International Auto Show at Detroit’s Cobo Center, the companies announced a collaboration between Nexteer’s advanced steering and driver assistance technologies and Continental’s portfolio of automated driving and advanced braking technologies to accelerate advancements in vehicle motion control systems.
“The motion control venture will accelerate Nexteer and Continental’s advancements in automated driving and achieve robust vehicle dynamics and safety,” says Frank Lubischer, Nexteer’s senior vice president of global engineering, chief technology officer, and chief strategy officer. “To that end, this team will work on braking and steering systems integration, enhanced by-wire development as well as create common safety architectures and strategies for redundant, operationally safe systems.”
Nexteer and Continental will hold an equal 50-50 percent ownership position in the joint venture, which will focus on research and development activities, including rapid evaluation, design, and prototyping. The joint venture will capitalize on both companies’ global resources and expertise, while focusing on enhancing the components for automated driving.
Initially, the venture will leverage existing technical talent from both Nexteer and Continental, and grow from there. Pending regulatory approvals, it is expected that the project will be operational by April.
