Technology
company Continental has clocked production and sales of one million instrument
clusters in India in 2018, the highest annual milestone for the product
achieved by their Central Electronics Plant in Bangalore.
Continental
has over 100 years of experience in developing and producing driver information
systems and solutions. As a full-range provider, Continental’s portfolio
includes all instrumentation variations, from entry-level to premium models,
from simple analog to complex full digital solutions. In India, Continental
supplies instrument clusters to all key vehicle manufacturers for the domestic
market as well as exports. Since start of production of clusters from the
Bangalore plant in 2008, the company has crossed production of 8 million
instrument clusters.
According
to Dr. FrankRabe, Executive Vice President and head of BU Instrumentation &
Driver HMI, Continental AG, “This milestone for Continental India underscores
our strength in the market, considering the total production volume of
passenger cars in India in 2018 was approximately 4 million. In addition to
serving the Indian market, our instrument clusters are also fitted in cars sold
in Asia, North America, Europe and Africa.”
He
further added, “Drivers should see what they need, and where they need. As a
technology company, our focus is to offer flexible platform solutions and
state-of-the-art technology that enable this. A portfolio as broad and in-depth
as ours can deliver a suitable display solution for virtually any requirement,
including classic analog or fully digital instrument clusters, head-up
displays, and automotive-compatible display solutions.”
Prasad C Basappa, Head of Instrumentation
& Driver HMI business for India said, “Our instrument clusters continue to
be in high demand. With the growth of the Indian market, we are expanding the
range of models we serve. We have continuously developed the technology, and
thanks to our close collaboration with customers, we have been able to
harmonize our products to customer requirements at optimal cost. We crossed the
production and sales of one million clusters in one year. This translates into
approximately three clusters produced every minute at our plant - therefore, in
a minute there are 3 cars sold somewhere in the world, with an instrument cluster
produced by Continental in Bangalore.”
“Following
the global technology trends and the demands from young and digitally savvy
vehicle buyers, we expect the Indian vehicle market to move from analog
instrument clusters to fully digital clusters. This technological shift will
not only make driving safer and more comfortable, it also presents a new
opportunity for our development and production teams here in India,” he added.
Human-machine Interface (HMI) for comfort
as well as safety
The
purpose of a display is to present information to the driver, precise and
relevant at any given point in time and in the current driving situation. The
driver should be able to connect and collaborate with the vehicle’s automated
systems safely and comfortably. Digital displays are easily comprehensible even
for a fatigued driver. Continental’s instrument clusters, with their
sophisticated HMI concept, offer attractive and well-structured possibilities
to keep the driver informed. They are also intuitive, thus ensuring minimized
driver distraction. Their flexible design makes it possible to realize almost
all styling requests the vehicle manufacturer might have. As an extension of
instrument clusters, head-up displays are a key technology in holistic
human-machine interaction –Drivers no longer have to take their eyes off the
road to read information from the instrument cluster, instead they get the
information directly in their field of view in the windshield. This kind of
intuitive dialog between vehicle and driver not only makes driving more
enjoyable but also creates increased trust in driver assistance systems, the
first step towards automated driving.
Source: Continental