Continental has recently reached a new production milestone from its Gurgaon plant. In its latest announcement, the company has revealed that the Continental Gurgaon Plant has reached 100 million Wheel Speed Sensor (WSS) and 10 million Electronic Brake Systems (EBS) production. The WSS and EBS are two essential parts for a car’s safety.
The EBS portfolio includes anti-lock brake systems (ABS) for both passenger cars and two-wheelers, as well as electronic stability control (ESC) for passenger automobiles.
While ABS attempts to prevent wheel locking and maintain the vehicle’s steerability when braking, ESC ensures the vehicle’s directional stability and steerability.
Furthermore, control systems like the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) depend on the signals from the WSS.
Every year, more than 1.3 million individuals worldwide pass away in traffic accidents. An additional 50 million people are injured. According to a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways study from 2023, there are 53 accidents and 19 fatalities from road crashes in India per hour, or an average of 1,264 accidents and 42 fatalities every day.
In an effort to improve traffic safety, the government mandated ABS technology in 2019 and proposed ESC in 2022.
Sukhdeep Sandhu, Head of Safety and Motion, Continental Automotive India, said, “Safety is non-negotiable. At Continental, we have consistently brought relevant technologies to the market for our customers, helping make vehicles and thereby our roads safer. Our expertise in active and passive safety systems is a key driver in reducing the number of traffic-related fatalities, injuries, and road accidents”.
“Localization is at the core of company’s strategy in India. Supported by legislations which have played a huge role in ensuring vehicular safety, we have been able to localize both production and R&D, ensuring greater value to our customers in the market. Customers in India are proactive in their adoption approach towards safety technologies”, he added.
The Company’s “Vision Zero” Pledge
Through technology, components and systems, and continuous innovation, Continental has been pursuing a long-term plan globally towards “Vision Zero”— a future without road fatalities, injuries, and crashes, thereby making a significant contribution to increased road safety.
Currently one of the biggest producers of WSS in India, the technology player is also a Tier 1 supplier in the automobile industry. These components are sold to other Asian and European regions in addition to serving top OEMs in India.
Anudeep Garg, Head of the Gurgaon plant, Continental Automotive India said, “We are proud to achieve this milestone and continue to focus on localization. As a Tier 1 supplier, we follow global manufacturing standards and have adopted several advanced technologies to create a digital shopfloor. Additionally, industry 4.0 technologies enable us to not only maintain product quality and enhance efficiency but also to effectively streamline our supply chain. We aim to increase the manufacturing capacity of EBS and WSS in double-digit percentages in the next three years for both passenger vehicles as well 2- wheelers.”
Its “in the market, for the market” philosophy localizes the entire value chain, from design and manufacturing to research and development. In this sense, Continental is tailoring globally proven technologies to the specific needs of the local market in order to facilitate simple access to safety solutions.
Large-scale manufacturing provides economic advantages and economies of scale, which helps to democratize safety features in cars throughout India’s many car segments.
In 2016, Continental established assembly lines in Gurugram for Antilock Brake Systems (ABS) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems for two-wheelers and passenger cars, marking the beginning of significant steps towards localizing safety components.
The technology company started producing Electronic Control Units (ECU) for ESC and ABS at its Bangalore location in 2018.
At its Bangalore factory, the company hit a production milestone of one million ABS and ESC ECUs the next year. At its Manesar plant, it accomplished a milestone of 50 million Wheel Speed Sensors (WSS) in 2020.
Furthermore, in 2022, Continental and the Japanese company Nisshinbo Holdings formed a joint venture to localize valve block machining for Electronic Brake Systems (EBS) in India.
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