Magneti Marelli is participating for the second time in the Auto Expo, India’s automotive tradeshow held every two years that attracts to New Delhi leading national and international automotive companies.
The Magneti Marelli stand at the Auto Expo features all the main business areas in which the company operates in the automotive sector (Automotive Lighting, Electronic Systems, Powertrain solutions, Suspensions and Shock Absorbers, and Motorsport) with special focus on the company’s activities in India. In fact, over the past four years Magneti Marelli has managed to reproduce its entire industrial perimeter through seven joint ventures with leading Indian partners: seven fully operational production facilities and another one set to start soon, the result of a recently signed joint venture for suspensions.
Magneti Marelli’s offer for a strategic market such as the Indian one meets the challenge of delivering state of the art technology and innovation at sustainable costs, thanks to a well-established manufacturing footprint and a growing R&D local network.
From this perspective, the Marelli Marelli stand at the Auto Expo (Pavilion 1-A Stand 3) is highlighting certain products in particular, starting from the Freechoice AMT (Automated Manual Transmission), an electro-hydraulic technology used to automate the manual transmission, a novelty for the Indian market, that combines driving comfort and lower emissions and consumptions.
In the area of electronic systems, in addition to a complete display of instrument panels of all ranges, telematics and infotainment solutions are in the foreground: from “telematic boxes” to the most sophisticated infotainment systems based on open-source platform that combine navigation, multimedia, connectivity, etc.
In the powertrain area, in addition to GDI systems, which optimize performances and lower consumptions in gasoline-powered engines, the focus is on complete multifuel solutions (electronic control unit, injectors, intake manifold), which allow alternative fuels such as CNG and LPG to be used.
Lighting technologies, both headlamps and rearlamps, are also showcased: the entire range will be on display, from the most advanced premium LED and Xenon solutions, to the most affordable halogen technologies, with special focus on skills in the processing and moulding of multi-coloured plastic and polycarbonate, an important issue for the Indian market and the demand of leading local carmakers.
There is also an area devoted to the solutions for the world of the two wheelers, a large market in India. For this market, in addition to a wide range of instrument clusters, Magneti Marelli offers various powertrain products and technologies, including the new “S-MIU”, an engine control system that allows two and three-wheelers vehicles to be fitted with electronic injection, easily and inexpensively.
The other highlights of the Magneti Marelli stand at the New Delhi Auto Expo include the latest versions of motogenerators and control units for electric-hybrid engines; the wide spectrum of components and modules for the field of suspensions - including the most advanced solutions in the area of weight reduction - within the scope of the recent Joint Venture agreement with the Indian Partner Talbros; the solutions for electronic control of suspensions called Synaptic Damping Control, alongside the latest technologies in the area of shock absorbers (dual stage valves, hydraulic drives); the range of exhaust systems, important in respect of lowering emissions and defining the “personality” of an automobile in connection with the concept “from noise to sound”.
Lastly, wide space is given to the feather in Magneti Marelli’s cap: the 90 years of presence and technological excellence in Motorsport, with a display of the best solutions and systems that are adopted by the most successful teams in the leading world automobile and motorcycle championships (Formula 1, GP2, FIA GT, WRC, WTCC; AMA, MotoGP; Superbike, etc.): GDI injection systems for racing (which will also be used F1 starting in 2014), KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) and the various injectors, pumps, data logger, electric drives for the gearbox, electronic control units, dashboards, etc.
Since 2007, Magneti Marelli has entered into the following joint ventures in India: with Maruti Suzuki India Limited and Suzuki Motor Company for electronic control units of diesel engines; with Sumi Motherson Group for lighting and powertrain components; with SKH Metals Limited and with SKH Sheet Metal Components Limited (both part of the Krishna Group) for the production of automobile exhaust systems; with Endurance Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for motor vehicle shock absorbers; and with Unitech Machines for automotive electronic systems. The last joint venture signed by Magneti Marelli, with Talbros Automotive Components Limited (TACL) in the area of suspensions, dates back to the middle of November 2011.