Schaeffler boosts software, electronics expertise with R&D centre in India
Electronics and mechanics supplier Schaeffler intends to expand the mechatronics, electronics and software areas of its Automotive Technologies division with more emphasis.
One milestone in this process is the inauguration of Schaeffler Technology Solutions India Private Limited, a new competence centre for software and electronics development in Pune, India. The Bavarian technology group regards its newly founded subsidiary as a strategically important pillar of its international R&D network for the development of software and electronics solutions for drive and chassis. Schaeffler is investing around 10 million euros in the new location.
The new unit is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Schaeffler Group. The company will employ around 200 developers here by the end of 2022. As part of Schaeffler’s E-Mobility division, the experts at the new location will work closely with the E-Mobility headquarters in Bühl, Germany. Further expansion of activities in India is already being planned. This will make Pune a main location for software and electronics development at Schaeffler in the future – as it is for many other European companies from the automotive industry. Mercedes-Benz, among others, also has a large part of its software developed in Pune.
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“E-mobility is an essential pillar of our drive solutions. More than 2,000 developers are already working on corresponding projects. In order to help shape the digital future of automotive mobility, we are expanding our electronics and software expertise worldwide. In this way, we are strengthening our position as a leading system supplier for electrified drives. In the future, our new unit in India will play a key role in shaping the electrically driven car of the future with software and electronics developments engineered by Schaeffler,” says Dr. Jochen Schröder, Head of the E-Mobility division at Schaeffler.
Focus on software development for electric mobility
Schaeffler offers its customers a wide range of products for electrified drives in numerous applications – from bicycle drives to 40-ton trucks, from hybrids to purely electric drives. The power spectrum ranges from a few to over 300 kilowatts. To this end, the company has developed its range of services in recent years from high-precision mechanics to highly complex mechatronic systems. One example of this is the 4in1 E-axis, in which the electric motor, power electronics, gearbox, thermal management and the associated software are integrated into a complete system. This strategy – offering both components and systems – is paying off for Schaeffler: In 2021, the company acquired electromobility projects worth €3.2 billion, and in the first nine months of 2022, it has already added a number of further orders worth another €4.7 billion. Two thirds of these are for systems business.
The experts at Schaeffler Technology Solutions India Private Limited will contribute to this business in future with state-of-the-art software, electronics and mechatronics developments. In addition, there will be validation tasks, which are crucial for the seamless connection of electrical and mechanical components for the reliability and efficiency of the overall system. In future, the focus of the new company will be on the use of mechatronic systems – from e-mobility and chassis applications to digitalisation. Functional safety according to ASIL D, autosar platforms and cyber security play a major role here.
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