What's Hot?
By Ammar Alvi
03rd March 2013 12:00 AM
Schaeffler, a German automotive components manufacturer, has unveiled a concept car for Indian roads claiming it has higher fuel efficiency with better ride and comfort. Will this change the future of Indian mobility? Ammar Alvi finds out.
Schaeffler has presented a new concept vehicle for the Indian automobile market featuring advanced drive train technologies that can offer up to 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption combined with better comfort and driving experience. The Efficient Future Mobility India concept car is based on subcompact hatchback and shows a range of Schaeffler solutions for optimizing engine and transmission technology currently available in India.
The demonstrator vehicle has been unveiled at Schaeffler’s flagship technology-sharing and joint development platform—Innovation Days—a highly successful specialised event from Germany, being organised for the first time in India. All solutions showcased in the car are cost-effective, close to volume production, and when integrated into a subcompact vehicle, make a valuable contribution to improving its performance and fuel efficiency.
According to Prof Peter Gutzmer, CTO of Schaeffler AG, “Schaeffler’s meticulously detailed work on drive trains based on internal combustion engines offers significant potential for reducing fuel consumption and emissions. Even with the efficient platform we selected, we still see further potential for optimisation here...” The Indian concept car, based on a current version of one of India’s most popular compact “Segment B” hatchback—Maruti Suzuki Swift, is an effort to bridge an increasing gap between demand for performance, comfort and economy and supply.
Copyright © 2012 The New Indian Express. All rights reserved.
Comments(8)
Any vehicle which has componants that can save fuel has got to be good, but this Schaeffler concept car, giving around 10% is excellent. I was fortunate to be able to see it at the Detroit motor show and, being from Europe myself, was impressed to see that it would allow car manufacturers to meet CAFE standards for 2020 with regard to fuel consumption and emmissions. I have been reading on other sites that Indian people are generally reserved when it comes to anything new. However I think Schaeffler have been very clever here in using probably the most popular make of car in India for the masses at this time. I believe that the fuel savings plus the kudos of owning this innovative car will overcome any reluctance. The important thing is that it remains affordable to all who would normally drive a Suzuki Swift or something similar. Can't wait to see what they come up with for motorbikes which are very popular here in Europe, especially in Scandanavian countries.
Posted by hartley-jones at 03/03/2013 13:58 Reply to this Report abuse
This is another innovation from Schaeffler and I believe this will contribute greatly to the achievement of CAFE standard for 2020. This great innovation from Schaeffler is also a prove and acknowledgement that the company is indeed a leading bearing manufacturing company. I must congratulate the management and staff of Schaeffler to this wonderful achievement. Great job Schaeffler, keep it up.
Posted by Jamey Scot at 03/04/2013 23:00 Reply to this Report abuse
Schaeffler did a great job by working on the subcompact hatchback which is most suitable for Indian road condition. This showed that a small car can be more than basic engine and wheels. Schaeffler's concept car has done a great job in patching the gap between demand for performance, comfort and economy. Most important thing is this car was designed and built in India. So, it is ready for Indian roads. The R&D expenditure in India is producing really good results.
Posted by Ajay at 03/08/2013 20:13 Reply to this Report abuse
I have heard about this secret project of Schaeffler since a few months back, glad to see its full potential finally. I honestly believed the driving conditions differences between India and USA make the Indian concept less efficient as the one that Schaeffler demonstrated during the NAIAS in Detroit last month at a rate of 15%, however an overall 10% is still an impressive figure. There are 1.2 billions of people in India, one can realize how much vehicles are traveling on the roads, and how much fuel can be saved with such technology. Moreover, taking the higher fuel efficiency, alternative benefits are done indirectly for producing less pollutants harming both humans and the environment.
Posted by Kiki Chan at 03/11/2013 21:34 Reply to this Report abuse
Bravo! this is another great innovation from Schaeffler and this is a prove and acknowledgement that Schaeffler is a great, creative and innovative company. Producing vehicle that is suitable for a particular country is such a great achievement for the company. Not only that, the vehicle is fuel efficiency by 10%. I must commend management of Schaeffler for their positive role they have been playing in the company because I believe this noble achievement of the company was as a result of the investment of Schaeffler on her staff. Schaeffler is among the leading company that invest heavily on her staff by training and re-training them.
Posted by The Bull at 03/16/2013 17:20 Reply to this Report abuse