Saginaw auto steering supplier
Nexteer Automotive is making strides in European car manufacturing markets with its latest round of contracts.
Nexteer is making single pinion electric power steering systems, which are proving to be popular among manufacturers making high-end compact cars. The company says its sales volumes for the systems are growing very fast with several manufacturers, as the product becomes the steering system of choice.
"These contract wins for our single pinion system confirm Nexteer's leading position in EPS systems development," says Laurent Bresson, Nexteer's executive director for global sales and marketing, and executive director for Europe. "Our focus on EPS has enabled us to develop a best-in-class steering system that exploits advances in materials and manufacturing processes. Nexteer technology is already fitted in some of the most critically acclaimed cars of recent times, including the Citroen DS3."
Bresson says some reasons Nexteer's systems are in such demand is their high-quality steering feel and crashworthiness, as well as overseas packaging constraints, since the systems save room by being mounted by the steering pinion in the engine compartment, rather than on the steering column.
Also driving sales is a trend toward electrical power steering from hydraulic, as the change to electric helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions, highly desirable on car designs in the coming years.
"Replacing a hydraulic system with an on-demand electrically powered system from Nexteer reduces fuel consumption by up to 6 percent," says Bresson. "That can be up to 30 percent of a carmaker's CO2 reduction target for 2015."
Nexteer has led the way toward electric steering technologies, supplying more than 14 million EPS units since 1999. It has 40 facilities worldwide, employing 8,300 employees.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Laurent Bresson, Nexteer Automotive
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