Autocruise Signs Deal with Visteon for Adaptive Cruise Control Radar
20 September 2000
Autocruise Ltd. Signs Deal with Visteon Corporation to Supply Adaptive Cruise Control Radar
Business Editors, Automotive WritersBREST, France--Sept. 20, 2000--Autocruise Ltd., a 50/50 joint venture between LucasVarity Ltd. (a subsidiary of TRW Inc.) and Thomson-CSF, has signed a worldwide strategic alliance agreement with Visteon Corporation for the development and supply of Autocruise Ltd.'s adaptive cruise control radar sensor.
Today an adaptive cruise control (ACC) system maintains a vehicle's cruising speed at a pre-set level. The system automatically adjusts the vehicle's speed to maintain an appropriate following distance from any vehicle ahead in the same lane. Visteon and Autocruise plan to introduce new features to the market. The first joint effort will introduce stopped-object detection in the 80-100 meter range and limited automatic braking down to a full stop. A progressive introduction of features such as "stop and go," collision warning and initial features of collision avoidance are envisioned by the agreement.
"The parent companies of Autocruise Ltd. -- TRW and Thomson-CSF -- welcome this strategic alliance with Visteon and the investment and customer access it will provide," said Adam Robson, chief executive officer, Autocruise Ltd.
Autocruise Ltd. has completed a dedicated production facility in Brest, France, which will meet production demand for European and North American customers. The Brest facility is located close to the Thomson-CSF Detexis plant to benefit from local radar engineering resources.
The Autocruise(R) radar sensor is a fundamental element of the ACC system. The radar was initially developed by Thomson-CSF using its leading-edge know-how in this domain (Thomson-CSF is the number one defense radar supplier in Europe). The result is a highly compact sensor that is less expensive than any other comparable automotive radar. It is a prime example of Thomson-CSF's strategy to develop products for both civil and military use. The radar uses the most advanced radar technology available based on Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMIC), which are ideal for high-volume, high-reliability production.
The Autocruise(R) radar sensor will be launched by Autocruise Ltd. at the end of the year to support a vehicle launch of a major European automaker.
Industry analysts predict that the market for adaptive cruise control, collision warning and headway control systems will grow to an estimated $2.4 billion by 2010 from about $11 million in 1998. Autocruise Ltd.'s sales are expected to exceed $75 million in the next five years, thus securing for the company a significant part of the worldwide market for the adaptive cruise control radar sensor.
"Autocruise Ltd. is well positioned to be a leader in its industry," said Robson. "It has a leading-edge and highly innovative radar product and technology base, coupled with unmatched Tier 1 customer support through TRW and Visteon, two of the world's Top-5 systems suppliers. Autocruise is the result of very significant on-going investments being made by all the partners, and I fully expect it to be a world Top-3 player in radar sensors for automotive use."
