Co-operation Between Michelin and Bosch

Co-operation Between Michelin and Bosch [10/2001]The co-operation between Bosch and Michelin is intended to be a long-term joining of forces between two equal partners, with the shared objective of improving car safety and personal mobility. The purpose of the co-operation is to generate innovative systems in the area of tyre/vehicle dynamic management through the combined know-how and technology of both companies. It extends from R & D to market activities relating to vehicle safety systems.

At Bosch, the activities are centered in the Chassis Systems Division. On the Michelin side, they are centered in the Passenger Car and Light Truck Tyre Division. Bosch – Milestones of innovations Bosch has set a number of milestones in the field of passenger car safety systems and, in particular, brake control systems.

In 1978 Bosch was the first company to introduce the Anti-Blocking System (ABS) to the passenger car market. The ABS increases vehicle stability during braking and it is becoming a standard equipment for all passenger cars. In 1986, Bosch was the first manufacturer of the Traction Control System (TCS), which stabilises vehicles during acceleration.

In 1995, Bosch was the world’s first manufacturer to start volume production of the Electronic Stability Program ESP. This system prevents a vehicle from skidding – within the limits of physics. All these systems, introduced by Bosch, are part of the vehicle dynamics management.

As from their introduction in 1978 until today, over 75 million ABS systems have been sold. The market penetration of vehicle safety systems is rapidly increasing. The ESP, introduced by Bosch in 1995, has already been sold 4.

5 million times, to date. The Bosch’s Chassis Systems Division, which was made for these innovations, is a world leader for brake systems. This division has approximately 20,000 employees, of which 2,500 work in R&D.

Sales last year were about EUR 4 billion, and the investment made for R&D was around 10 per cent of sales. Bosch’s motivations for co-operation with Michelin One motivation for the co-operation with Michelin is Bosch’s intention to continue the growth strategy for vehicle dynamics systems’ market through joint developments with tyre and suspensions technology. Although the stabilisation systems used at the present time already take the tyre characteristics into account, Bosch knows that it can considerably improve the vehicle stabilisation systems by communicating better with the tyre.

Safety is a priority for Michelin and for Bosch. The products of both companies, as well as the knowledge about vehicle dynamics, complement each other. Michelin is the preferred partner for Bosch because both companies have a history of being technology leaders in their fields.

Michelin also has a proven track record of being highly innovative for more than 100 years, as well as a vast expertise in the field of vehicle dynamics, ie the behaviour of the entire vehicle in all driving conditions. With this background, the partners are well positioned for bringing together further pioneer innovations on to the market. All these factors represent a solid basis for a long-term success.

Michelin’s position and motivations. Michelin – pioneer in the field of mobility Michelin has done its utmost for over 100 years to further man’s ability to travel. Pioneers in the field of mobility, Michelin’s technological leadership, to which Bosch referred, enables the Group to offer innovative system solutions of course for tyres, but also for anti-vibration and suspension systems.

Here are two examples: Firstly the PAX System, Michelin’s extended mobility solution, that has already been homologated by several car-makers. This technology allows driving even with a flat tyre, while improving safety and enhancing traditional tyre performances, such as rolling resistance and handling. Secondly, in 2001, Michelin presented the Optimised Contact Patch passive axle system which allows the tyre to maintain its optimum footprint in contact with the road even when cornering, thereby improving the tyre’s overall performance.

What is the importance of knowledge in the field of tyres and chassis? These examples have reinforced Michelin’s conviction that a mastery of tyre technology is essential and will become even more critical for the development of systems that control the complexity of vehicle dynamics. This is equally true for anti-vibration and suspension systems. This knowledge is the key that enables Michelin to understand and control the global tyre/suspension performance as perceived subjectively by vehicle users.

Michelin can therefore better comply with car manufacturers’ requirements in terms of vehicle customisation. Bosch, a privileged partner In order to succeed in elaborating and marketing complete optimised vehicle dynamic systems, Michelin sought as a partner, a true leader and innovator in the automotive electronic. Bosch was at first sight a natural partner, because of its heritage, its reputation for innovation and its concern for safety – they were the first to introduce ABS, TCS and ESP systems.

The two companies share the common vision of the potential for close cooperation, the scope for shared benefits and the need for retaining our independent strategies and assets. Finally, through working together, we found a natural spirit of trust and mutual confidence between our teams. What are Michelin and Bosch going to do together? The objectives of the cooperation are a better braking performance and extended mobility.

The purpose of the cooperation is to generate innovative systems in the area of tyre/vehicle dynamic management through the combined know-how of two technology leaders. As people understood it during two previous presentations, today’s vehicle stabilising systems need to compromise in order to work reasonably well with all types of tyres. As the tyre is the „link“ between the vehicle and the road, the cooperation between Bosch and Michelin allows the companies to customise vehicle dynamic management to tyres and suspensions.

In the future, this will be specifically designed for optimised performance, even if it is compatible with standard tyres. This will lead to a considerable increase of safety and performance through the combined innovative forces of both companies. Michelin and Bosch will offer advanced vehicle dynamic management systems with new functionality.

Both companies have identified major fields of development where advanced systems with new functionality can be jointly designed. Let us mention, as two field examples: braking performance and extended mobility. In those fields, synergy means that components involved, such as tyres, suspension and vehicle dynamic management systems, will complement each other and thus form a comprehensive system.

The car manufacturers will get a complete system, simultaneously engineered by the partners in a joint effort, from which the end-user will benefit in a number of ways. The first jointly developed products will offer major improvements regarding safety and mobility. Among the strategic fields, in which both companies will get involved, they will start by focusing on the following points: Braking performanceThrough an integrated system of high-performance tyres and the Electronic Stability Program ESP, braking distance will be reduced by 15 per cent compared to presently available systems to be achieved by the year 2005 Extended mobilityThrough matching of the next generation of Michelin’s PAX System Mobility solution and Bosch’s ESP, there will be an increase of vehicle mobility in the event of a deflated tyre.

The companies expect such a system to be available by the year 2004. These two examples give one impression about the scope of our joint effort towards an integrated system approach that uses the components as well as the know-how of both companies. These are ambitious projects.

So, how are they going to achieve them? The Agreement In order to meet the goal, Bosch and Michelin have agreed to enter into a long-term cooperation agreement, which sets the general framework allowing the teams to work together on projects from the research stage to the market-place. The agreement is designed to respect both companies’ independence in terms of strategy and assets. Furthermore, the companies will set up a joint structure as a vehicle to facilitate this agreement and support our common activities on a long-term basis.

Customer benefits in focus/vision of systems standardisation In an initial development phase, the companies will design, manufacture and market their vehicle dynamic management systems, which include advance tyres, braking systems, and functional software. They will then jointly, make the technology accessible to third parties. This will ensure that the technology becomes available and thus favour standardisation of the systems offered to the car manufacturers.

This reflects the business policy of both companies to make safety systems widely obtainable. Although this agreement creates a special link between our companies, it is fully consistent with the partnerships that Bosch and Michelin have each established over the past years, and they believe that our respective partners could see benefit from it. .