In line with the theme of this year’s event, “Leading through Innovation”, Magneti Marelli participates in the Auto China 2012 showcasing leading technologies such as lighting and GDI direct injection systems, presenting the entire range of its business areas.

Magneti Marelli has reinterpreted the theme of the tradeshow by illustrating its own motto, “A part of”, according to three key messages that combine China’s main automotive issues with the terms of the company’s commitment in that country: actively contributing to the evolution of sustainable mobility (“A part of Mobility Evolution”); introducing innovative technological solutions on a continuous basis (“A part of Perpetual Innovation”), continuing to contribute to the growth of China’s automotive industry (“A Part of Chinese Automotive Industry”).

These three concepts are made clear at the Magneti Marelli’s stand, in pavilion W1-W (position 01), an “open” space where visitors can come into direct contact with the company’s various business areas and entire scenario of automotive technologies, in a dynamic itinerary that also includes a “darkroom” illuminated only by the most advanced automotive lighting technologies and a series of interactive totems dedicated to infotainment and telematic solutions. In addition, this year’s event is especially significant due to the presentation of the new Fiat Viaggio, for which Magneti Marelli supplies a large number of components.

Technologies and systems

Inside the stand, Magneti Marelli dedicates plenty of space to lighting and to the most sophisticated Xenon and LED technologies, displaying headlights and rear lights and lighting solutions with an increasingly significant impact on safety, fuel consumption and stylistic research. In fact, aesthetics is an aspect on which manufacturers are concentrating more and more in order to characterise the “eyes” of the automobile, enhancing its recognisability and personality, as in the case of the full-LED headlight fitted on the Mercedes-Benz CLS: one of the many excellent examples of the mixture of functionality, design and technological ability achieved in this area by Magneti Marelli Automotive Lighting.

The stand also features the innovation represented by the Bi-Xenon headlight equipped with a 25W light bulb. Compared to the 35W light bulbs used for Xenon lighting, the 25W ones offer the same lighting characteristics with lower consumptions and costs. The heart of the display area dedicated to lighting consists of a darkroom equipped with a demo of a road at night. Inside the darkroom, visitors can first of all compare the light beams generated by halogen, xenon and LED lighting. The simulator illustrates the latest solutions in terms of intelligent lighting, among which the new generation of full-LED headlights with adaptive function: the system defines the driving conditions and the setting, automatically selecting the best lighting set-up from seven possible modes, adapting the light beam to speed, type of road being travelled and different weather conditions.

On a market experiencing such strong growth such as China, consisting almost exclusively of gasoline-powered engines, Magneti Marelli is focusing on powertrain solutions for direct injection, aimed at the appreciable reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, together with the maintenance of high performances for internal combustion engines.

The GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) technology is based on high working pressures and sophisticated multi-hole injection strategies combined with the use of a turbocharger, to allow engine downsizing. For the GDI systems, Magneti Marelli makes injectors, pump, electronic control unit and management software, and so far has produced approximately 18 million GDI injectors (about 6 million in the past year).

This is a technology that originated from mass production and has already been applied in the Motorsport as well (specifically in the WRC), and in 2014 will also be used in Formula 1: for this racing application, Magneti Marelli is currently testing injectors and pumps for engines with petrol pressures of up to 500 bar.

The display is completed with the fourth generation of the AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) Freechoice®, systems for the electronic management of the Dual Clutch transmission and other powertrain components, such as intake manifolds and throttle bodies, which will be the scope of the cooperation with FUDI, based on the recently signed JV.

In the powertrain area, this year Magneti Marelli once again displays its range of hybrid-electric engines with different powers, deriving from the KERS experience in F1. In this edition, there is a new low-voltage module, which further enriches the range by expanding it to new applications.

In the same area, Magneti Marelli has worked with Pininfarina to make the Cambiano, which made its debut in Geneva and is displayed again in Beijing, on which the traction system consists of four electrical motors, one for each wheel, and of the relevant moto-reducer. The motors, made by Magneti Marelli, are fitted on the rear and front frames. Each motor delivers a continuous power of 60 kW and a peak power of 150kW, for a total 600 kW of total maximum power with a torque of 640Nm.

The Magneti Marelli stand also features a large area dedicated to electronic systems and telematics, with five interactive totems that illustrate the most advanced infotainment and navigation systems. The demo screens show the characteristics of the first infotainment solution with Genivi-compliant software on automotive hardware, of three infotainment systems based on different types of platform – which integrate entertainment, multimedia, navigation and connectivity functions – and of telematic box.

In the latter case, the demos show all the possible applications of this electronic device (also called T-box) which, by integrating a wireless connection with communication networks, satellite localisation and an accelerometer, allows in-vehicle use of services for intelligent mobility management: auto insurance, fleet management, tracking, infologistics, car pooling, e-call (automatic emergency call in case of accident or vehicle overturning), e-toll (the telematic payment of motorway tools or other road services), tele-diagnostics (the remote monitoring of vehicle operation that makes it possible for a central infrastructure to identify possible breakdowns or anomalies) and the obtainment of information on car parks, limited traffic areas (ZTL), traffic and road conditions.

In the area of electronic systems, particular emphasis is given to a strategic know-how of Magneti Marelli, the one pertaining to instrument panels: the stand displays nine models, six of which produced locally in China, to underscore the different personalisation possibilities and breadth of the range, which goes from basic models to the most advanced ones, such as the instrument panel fitted on the Porsche 911.

As illustrated during the recent Formula 1 Grand Prix in Shanghai, Magneti Marelli again displays in its stand in Beijing its technological offer for the motorsport area. Motorsport products are part of the stand in order to emphasize the technological osmosis which exists between racing products and mass production, with a constant evolution towards new frontiers in terms of efficiency, performance, safety, fuel savings and emission reduction, alternative engines and electronics at the service of intelligent mobility. Examples of such an exchange are provided at the stand with special focus on the future: the GDI from mass-production to the racetrack, the hybrid engine systems based on KERS technology and the possible transfer of know-how between advanced telemetry solutions for the racing world and the info-telematic communication technologies between mass-production vehicles and infrastructures.

Magneti Marelli’s presence at Auto China is completed with the exhaust systems and with the suspensions and shock absorbers area. As far as exhaust systems are concerned, the stand displays both Hot End and Cold End components, which today Magneti Marelli can manufacture entirely in China. In the area of suspensions and shock absorbers, special focus is placed on the role of research in the use of lighter materials with equal resistance properties, with the aim of reducing vehicle weight and, consequently, fuel consumption.

The technologies of these business areas on display include the DSV (Dual Stage Valve), a solution that allows motorists to select from two shock absorber positions (normal and sporty); the latest version of the electronic control system for suspensions called SDC (Synaptic Damping Control) aimed at dampening vehicle body oscillations under all driving conditions, and the Superlift system, which allows the vehicle to be lifted on both axles.

The stand closes with the aftermarket area, Magneti Marelli’s strategic window on the world of motorist assistance and spare parts distribution on the independent market. On display, a few tele-diagnostics instruments and spare parts kits for the maintenance and repair of European, Asian and American vehicles. For the latter, the range of products is offered in cooperation with Mopar, Chrysler’s after-sales sector.

During the Auto China event, particularly worthy of mention is the international presentation of the new Fiat Viaggio, for which Magneti Marelli supplies many hi-tech components. As for the lighting, Magneti Marelli offers its know-how for the front lighting, with a bi-halogen elliptic module headlight, and for the rear lighting, with LED lamps featuring an exclusive design. In the area of electronic systems, two instrument panel technologies are available based on the vehicle version, in addition to the Hand Free Module system. In the powertrain area, in addition to intake manifolds, motorized butterfly valves and injectors, Magneti Marelli also supplies components for the Dual Clutch transmission (hydraulic kit and electronic control unit), as well exhaust systems (manifolds and terminals) and front and rear shock absorbers.

Auto China represents a crucial meeting point on a market where Magneti Marelli is undergoing further expansion, as demonstrated by the two joint ventures signed in the past nine months with FUDI, for powertrain components, and with Wanxiang Qianchao Company, for shock absorbers.

Magneti Marelli has been operating in China since 1996 with production plants and R&D/Engineering Centres in Shanghai (Powertrain in JV with Shanghai Automobile Gear Works - SAGW – and Exhaust Systems), Wuhu (Automotive Lighting and Powertrain), Guangzhou (Electronic Systems), Hangzhou (shock absorbers in JV with Wanxiang Qianchao Company) and in the Chaoyang industrial and financial district of the city of Changchun (Powertrain in JV with FUDI).