Integrating the IP

Automotive Industries, May, 1999 by Norman Martin

It's the hottest trend in instrument panel development, cost-cutting -- and a big opportunity for automakers and supplies. Here's why.

If the automotive instrument panel were real estate, it would be prime oceanfront property. Everybody wants a slice of the valuable space, but the cost of an inch of real estate is growing fast. And there's only a very finite amount of it available.

The IP is the most critical juncture, and possibly the most complex sub-system, in the vehicle. Its overall design, features and functionality can actually help sell a new car or track -- or turn off a potential customer. Likewise, the cockpit (as it's increasingly known) is one of the greatest sources of quality-related customer dissatisfaction -- from poor trim fit and ergonomics, to annoying buzzes, squeaks and rattles.

And it's also a major factor in occupant safety, being mounted on a cross-car structural beam and incorporating the passenger airbag and various "soft" surfaces to reduce impact injury.

Such implications are why some automakers are reluctant to outsource the cockpit's design and engineering to suppliers.

"But huge hunks of cost fall out, if you truly integrate the engineering," asserts Sam Licavoli, CEO of Textron Automotive, a major IP supplier in Troy, Mich.

Integration of the total IP system (including structure HVAC ducting) is the hottest trend in cockpit development. Two factors are driving the integration: modular design and supply, and the influx of more and more electrical/electronic gear packed into the fascia.

Indeed, some engineers describe the fight for IP space as a "turf war" being waged by computer, consumer electronics, and even safety systems suppliers. They're battling each other with killer audio systems, sophisticated climate and navigation devices, and even Internet service, to capture the hearts, minds and wallets of the customer.

One Module, Multi-System Integration

Three levels of IP design and development are underway, explain industry experts. One is simply handing over component assembly to a supplier. The second is modularization, and the third is full integration. Modularization focuses more on current assembly and packaging techniques, while integration targets multiple functions, and requires multi-department cooperation to reduce the package size while improving functionality.

The Europeans started the modular IP trend and U.S. automakers, particularly Ford and General Motors, are moving very quickly towards the same goal. And the Japanese? They're essentially standing by, observing and deciding which route to take.

"They know that the trend is there and they see the value in it," Textron's Licavoli says. "But I don't see a lot of activity. In fact, many of the Japanese OEs are manufacturing their own IPs."

Of course, the global trend appears to be outside supply of complete, ready-to-install cockpits. How it's integrated, and to what degree, depends on the systems capabilities of the supplier. The mega-giants Delphi and Visteon can build the complete module themselves. Lear Corp. is headed in the same direction. That's why the world's largest automotive seat maker spent $2.3 billion in March to buy UT Automotive, a company with strong IP development credentials.

"They're actually producing them (IPs) here in this country, which is a big advantage for us," notes Jim Masters, president of Lear's Technology Div. in Southfield, Mich, The only instrument panels Lear currently makes are in Sweden for Volvo and Saab. In addition, UTA brings deep expertise in electronic and electrical distribution. "It's something we haven't had," Masters adds.

Others without such capability search for partners with competencies that complement their own.

That's what Siemens Automotive and Sommer Allibert, a major European interior systems suppliers, did in 1996 when they formed a joint-venture to produce a modular cockpit for Volkswagen AG. The two partners internally make about 70% of the cockpit components while the remainder comes from other suppliers. Siemens brings expertise in wire harness, electronics, airbags and navigation, while Sommer Allibert's strength is in sound insulation and overall IP design.

"The intent isn't to reproduce the component operations that already exist within our respective organizations," explains Joseph Fadool, a manager in body electric systems at Siemens Automotive in Dearborn, Mich. Rather, it is to determine what electrical and mechanical interfaces can be integrated to cut costs.

Worldwide, some 5,900 modular cockpits are produced per day for six automakers in nine countries on 15 models, including the Skoda Octavia in Europe, the VW Golf, New Beetle, and Audi A3 in Mexico, as well as the VW Passat in Brazil. The cockpit includes the firewall, brake booster, pedals, steering column, cross-car structural beam, wiring harness, passenger airbag, electrical components and instrument panel/cluster.

A Flat-Wire Future

The current goal is to design a single modular product while integrating subsystems, explains Biba Georgievski, a manager in advanced interior systems at Visteon in Dearborn, Mich. She cites Visteon's latest serf-described "super-integrated" cockpit concept, in which four divisions -- climate control, electronics, interior systems and chassis -- contributed to the final module.