European Vans Add Power Sliding Doors - Is This McDonaldizing?

PARIS, Sept. 30, 2002 -- Citroen, Fiat, Lancia and Peugeot are the first European manufacturers to offer mass production vehicles fitted with an electric power sliding door. Developed by Delphi Corp. , the power sliding door allows users to open and close the side-entry doors at the touch of a button.

Delphi's system provides remote, automatic operation of side-entry sliding doors using vehicle-mounted switches or the convenience of a remote-entry unit. This technology offers consumers the ability to open and close a door even with full hands. The technology also solves the problem of large, heavy doors, which can be particularly difficult to open or close manually if the vehicle is on an incline.

Providing a lifetime contract value of 28 million Euros, Delphi's power sliding door is standard on top-range models of Peugeot 807, Citroen C8, Fiat Ulysse and Lancia Phedra and is also offered as an option on other models. The most recent Delphi technology, referred to as Generation III, is significantly more compact than earlier systems with a packaging reduced by 25% and also combines many of the benefits learned through Delphi's extensive experience in this product area. Delphi has been manufacturing power sliding doors since 1993 and now has more than 2 million on the road.

The Delphi power sliding door is an electro-mechanical cable-driven system, designed to open and close track-mounted sliding doors manually or at the touch of a button. A single electronic control unit is used to control both doors, reducing the component count, simplifying installation and allowing further improvements in packaging and cost. This mechatronic module was developed by the Delphi Wuppertal Technical Center in cooperation with the Delphi Paris Electronic Development Center, illustrating Delphi's capability to offer complete systems.

"The power sliding door is a really attractive feature that is sure to become as popular in Europe as it has in North America," said James A. Bertrand, president of Delphi Safety & Interior Systems. "With the continued technological development of power products, we expect further consumer demand for this type of safety and comfort product." Other power products available from Delphi include power liftgates, power boot lids including power trunk lid or power deck lid, and power tonneau covers.

Delphi will also supply other technologies for the new vehicles, including amplifier electronics for hidden reception systems, column integrated modules, body electronics and remote entry subsystems.