AM MAGAZINE SHELL - Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine

PRODUCTSContinental control unitDespite a certain degree of market saturation in North America, WesternEurope and Japan, the worldwide car production will continue to increase –from 63 million in 2005 to a forecasted 74 million in 2013.The four major emerging countries ofBrazil, China, India and Russia is expectedto increase their share of the global carproduction from 14 percent at present to20 percent in 2013.In these and other emerging markets,low-cost cars with few extra features andsimple electric and electronic functions willexperience high growth rates.The scope of their electronicscorresponds roughly to that of a Europeanmid-range vehicle some 15 years ago.Typical body electronic functions todayare for instance power windows with antipinchprotection, ultrasonic parking assistsystems, light management, remote controlfor central locking, immobilizer orwindscreen wipers.Control devices for these bodyelectronics functions need to be highlyflexible and scalable.On the one hand, the car makers andtheir suppliers must react very quickly tothe changing needs.On the other hand, the equipmentfeatures of low-cost cars depend on therespective market demands and differconsiderably, depending on the exportcountry.And there is also the increasing pressureon costs.In response to these needs,Continental’s Interior division engineers atthe Shanghai location have developed anew control unit especially for the marketsin the emerging countries: the BasicFunction Controller.It replaces the individual relayspreviously required for functions such asblinker or wiper intervals.The Basic Function Controller will beused for the first time in standardproduction at the end of 2008 by theChinese car maker Geely.Other production start-ups at furtherAsian manufacturers are already in thepipeline.For cost reasons, only functions that arefound in at least 80 percent of low-costcars are integrated as software modules inthe Basic Function Controller.Functions that are low in demand areintegrated into the electronics architectureas independent components.Integration possibilities are alsoThe controlunit isgeared closelyto marketneeds andis costoptimised.provided in the software structure of thecontrol unit so that it can take on furtherfunctions at a later point in time.The hardware is designed based onsimilar principles.For instance, the system no longer hasany seldom used components.The control unit is geared closely tomarket needs and is cost optimised.The design of the Basic FunctionController always depends on theequipment features of the vehicle andautomaker's specifications.Continental and each car manufacturerwork together to generate a customisedcontrol unit with precisely the standardisedfunctions and hardware componentsrequired.To change a standard function later, theentire component is replaced.The new component can contain a newversion of the standard function or also thestandard function expanded with furtherfunctions.Minor deviations in the functionrequirements are realised in the functioncomponents by modifying parameters.In this way, the vehicle is adaptedquickly for other export markets withdifferent requirements.To deal with especially challenging pricedemands in a local market, the range offunctions is reduced accordingly orfunctions are simplified compared to theirEuropean versions.In connection with other control devices(such as for the instrument cluster or theengine), the Basic Function Controllerallows for low-priced total solutions.Continental’s Basic Function Controller will be used for the first time instandard production at the end of 2008 by the Chinese car maker Geely.Continental says it makes nocompromises on the new Basic FunctionController.All software functions and hardwarecomponents comply with the corporation'sglobal quality guidelines.Continental guarantees a targeteddevelopment process by employing its ownengineers locally at all key customers andinvolving them early on in the process.Specialised teams with extensive expertiseare responsible for the entire productdevelopment directly in the new keymarkets.The engineers thus profit from theexpert knowledge that is available andnetworked within the company at the globallevel.This guarantees shorter channels, speedand as a rule, production readiness in lessthan 12 months.In general, Continental does not providecar manufacturers with products that arefully defined, especially in the interiorelectronics sector, but instead withextensive solutions including theintegration.On the Basic Function Controller, theuncompromisingly cost-optimised totalarchitecture was of top priority, wherebyflexibility, scalability, functionality,reliability and safety were not disregarded.With this strategy, Continental says itcan offer the best electronic concepts atthe best price and of the best quality in theemerging countries.For more information visit the websitewww.conti-online.com36 AU T O M O T I V E A F T E R M A R K E T M AG A Z I N E AU G U ST 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