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'By-wire' standards group now builds seven of 10 cars
Chicago - Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Hyundai Kia Motors have joined the FlexRay Consortium, adding their weight to the group's effort to create a common standard for automotive by-wire technology. With the new automakers, FlexRay members now build almost seven of every 10 new vehicles in the world each year.
"The number of possible applications for FlexRay has increased by a vast number of vehicles," said chairman Claas Bracklo, who is also senior manager of electrical/electronic architecture for passenger car development at DaimlerChrysler AG. "Numbers are the driving momentum for any standard; you need to have significant business partners."
FlexRay technology, which consists of electronic hardware and software, is being called a key feature in future vehicles because it provides a time-triggered, deterministic solution for such safety-critical applications as brakes and steering.
Automotive engineers said that the addition of the four major Asian automakers is key for several reasons. By...