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Valeo: research aims to give cars eyes, ears and brains
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VALEO, a Paris-based group specializing in powertrain, thermal, visibility, comfort and driving assistance systems, recently opened its biggest global plant in Shanghai under a joint venture it started with Huayu Automotive Systems Co two decades ago.
Shanghai Valeo Automotive Electrical Systems Co owns the 80,000 square-meter plant, which has the capacity to make tens of millions of pieces each year.
The new facility will help bolster Valeo’s target of doubling China sales every four years.
Motivated by what it sees as the need for constant innovation, the company plans to invest an average 1 billion yuan (US$161 million) in China each year. In the context of China, that goes beyond mere cutting-edge technology.
“I remember some clients came to us expressing concern about upholding quality while controlling budget,” said Yi Pinghua, general manager of Shanghai Valeo Automotive Electrical Systems Co.
He was referring to a common dilemma in China’s production of minivans that are designed as budget-conscious crossovers between passenger and commercial vehicles.
“That’s why Valeo developed a special starter with deceleration functions for them as a cost-effective choice,” he said.
Utilizing the same idea is its i-StARS starter alternator. When a vehicle’s speed drops below 8 kilometers an hour for automatic transmissions or 20 kilometers for manual, i-StARS can shut down the engine to reduce idling speed, then restart it silently when the car accelerates via a belt drive that links the system to the crankshaft.
The i-StARS starter alternator is easy to install, thus reducing cost. And in the alternator mode, the power electronics can improve the system’s electrical efficiency.
A car in the city can spend 35 percent of its time at standstill, meaning that such a technology can significantly cut emissions caused by the needless rotating of engines.
Carbon dioxide emissions reduction and Asian development are Valeo’s key strategies for the future.
Many carmakers have chosen to downsize engines, electrify vehicles or hybridize powertrains. But, in fact, their choices go way beyond that, said Jacques Aschenbroich, chief executive officer of the Valeo Group.
Carbon dioxide reduction can also be achieved by improving the efficiency of air-conditioning systems, which are used frequently in places like Shanghai, with hot summers and cold winters. Reduction can also be achieved by adopting LED headlights and intelligent driving assistance systems. These are all areas where Valeo can contribute its expertise, he added.
Traffic jams give people in cities like Paris and Shanghai a big headache. To develop an automated system where a car will able to take in all its surroundings and react accordingly, one needs to give it sharp eyes, ears and brains.
Taking one step at a time, Valeo has developed an integrated system of ultrasonic sensors, cameras and laser devices to make self-parking possible.
But it may take a long time for a car to be programmed into putting everything into proper and safe perceptive.
A fierce competition to develop autonomous driving has broken out between traditional carmakers and IT companies like Google, whose second-generation self-driving car is set to hit the road in September.
The competition doesn’t faze Aschenbroich. He said he plans to stay in the vanguard no matter who triumphs.
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