Würzburg/Germany, 1 October 2007

EXCLUSIVE (1): Plans for further cooperation between BMW and PSA have been put on hold

BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën will most likely not be entering into an additional form of cooperation in the field of engines. That is what Klaus Dräger, who is in charge of the development division at BMW, confirmed in an interview with the German magazine, »Automobil Industrie«. BMW and PSA issued a joint communiqué in December 2006 announcing that they were looking into further cooperation with each other in the field of engines – a plan which has clearly come to nothing. „At the moment, there is a certain re-orientation process going on at PSA,“ Mr. Dräger confirmed. „The project has been put on hold.“

Ever since 2006 the „Prince“ engine developed by BMW has been manufactured in Douvrin. It is the engine used in the second generation of the Mini and in various types of PSA Peugeot Citroën cars. „That is one of our most expensive engines,“ PSA boss, Christian Streiff, told »Automobil Industrie«. There is more about the topic in the cover story of issue 10/07 of the German magazine, »Automobil Industrie«, which will go on sale on 4 October.

EXCLUSIVE (2): Schefenacker is looking for co-operation partners

Professor Ulrich Bruhnke, who has been in charge of Schefenacker, the automotive suppliers, since July, is on the lookout for co-operation partners in order to broaden the company’s position even further in the car mirror business sector. He also intends to re-assess all the company’s locations, Mr. Bruhnke revealed in an exclusive interview with »Automobil Industrie«. „These days there are sensors and sometimes even cameras integrated into car mirrors. We are market leaders in image processing and camera-based vision. We are now talking to business partners about further growth opportunities in these areas,“ Mr. Bruhnke told the magazine.

Mr. Bruhnke, previously the boss of Mercedes-AMG and BMW M GmbH, also announced that all plants and development offices of the company would be under renewed scrutiny: „We will give each of our locations a fair assessment.“ He also intends to reorganise research and development at the company. Schefenacker is a company with a long tradition in which, subsequent to financial restructuring, a creditors‘ consortium now owns a stake of more than 70%. The full exclusive interview can be found in issue 10/07 of the German magazine, »Automobil Industrie«, which is due to go on sale on 4 October.

EXCLUSIVE (3): Development boss at Valeo announces new types of technology

The French automotive supplier, Valeo, intends to benefit from the current CO2 debate with new types of technology, according to the boss of the company’s development division, Martin Haub, in an exclusive interview with »Automobil Industrie«. Among other things, Valeo is working on an electric compressor. „Together with a technological business partner, we are involved in the preliminary development phase of new compressor technology,“ Mr. Haub revealed. He was referring here to an electrically operated pump which is used as a supplement to the turbo in the lower speed range and is intended to function faster than a compressor. He said that the pump could be ready for series production from 2012 onwards.

Furthermore, Valeo has been working for several years on the development of electromagnetic actuators to open and close valves. This technology is known as a „camless“ engine, in other words a system without camshafts. Now further details have been released. „We will be launching this technology in series production after 2010 with a high-performance vehicle,“ Mr Haub went on to say. Valeo is expecting to be the first supplier globally to launch the new technology.

Moreover, Mr. Haub is expecting there will be a breakthrough for start-stop systems for use in high-performance vehicles too: „I am totally convinced that start-stop systems will materialise for 6 and 8-cylinder engines too.“ Until now, these systems are used almost only in compact cars. The full interview can be found in issue 10/07 of the German magazine, »Automobil Industrie«, which is due to go on sale on 4 October.

If the above facts are re-published, please name »Automobil Industrie« as the source when doing so.

»Automobil Industrie« is a monthly specialist magazine published by Vogel Business Media, Würzburg/Germany, which has a circulation of some 15,000 copies. »Automobil Industrie« is aimed at managers in the automobile industry: automobile manufacturers, suppliers, outfitters and service providers. For more than 50 years now, the magazine has been an essential read within the German car sector. Current daily news from the entire automotive sector is available at www.automobilindustrie.de and also in the newsletter issued on a regular basis.

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»Automobil Industrie«

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