WABCO Holdings, a Belgian-based global supplier of technologies and services to improve safety, efficiency, and connectivity of commercial vehicles, today announced a long-term cooperation agreement with Auburn Hills-based Nexteer Automotive for active steering systems.
WABCO and Nexteer will collaborate to develop and supply active steering systems for medium and heavy duty commercial vehicles using Nexteer MagnaSteer Actuation Technology, a new product in advanced steering assistance.
Based on a previous agreement to acquire RH Sheppard, an engineering services firm, both companies will integrate MagnaSteer’s technology with Sheppard’s suite of power steering gears, which have set the industry standard for heavy duty commercial and specialty vehicles.
Through an existing exclusivity agreement between Nexteer and Sheppard, WABCO can offer a compact, cost-effective technological solution that enables active steering control for commercial vehicle manufacturers in North America. Additionally, WABCO has access to this technology for all medium and heavy duty commercial truck markets outside North America.
“This cooperation agreement marks another key milestone as WABCO advances toward enabling self-driving commercial vehicles,” says Jorge Solis, WABCO’s president of truck, bus and car OEMs division. “We have a clear line of sight on the fundamental technologies — such as active steering, active braking, electronic stability control, and other advanced driver assistance systems — which will enable significant intermediary steps on our industry’s path to realize fully autonomous driving.”
Nexteer’s MagnaSteer is precision engineered for flexibility as a modular design that fully integrates within Sheppard’s gear product line. It also scales efficiently for manufacturers of medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses, and will make vehicles safer and more comfortable to drive compared to conventional steering gears, say company officials.
