FARMINGTON HILLS, MI – Supplier Astemo Americas shows off its latest technologies and vows to accelerate its advanced mobility investments while keeping a close eye on the tariff dispute between the U.S. and China, a battle that could lead to shortages of the rare-earth magnets used in components used across the auto industry.
Next-generation technologies for autonomous driving, electric vehicles, chassis, suspension, steering and braking were on display to the media here recently at Astemo Americas’ Detroit-area headquarters, with the supplier noting its goals are a future without accidents and a smaller environmental impact.
“As our industry moves into the age of the software-defined vehicle, Astemo aims to further strengthen as a leader in electrifications and mobility intelligence,” Tim Clark, CEO of Astemo Americas, tells media, adding the supplier is accelerating its investment in advanced mobility. Under that umbrella fall electrification, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous-driving technologies.
The ADAS technology on display here features a multi-camera system that uses artificial intelligence to develop automated driving solutions.
The camera-based system and proprietary AI is less expensive and more effective than lidar, according to John Nunneley, Astemo senior vice president of design engineering and IT, who says some of the features could show up on new vehicles before the end of the decade.
The system can combine signals from the powertrain and chassis and calculate the expected and predicted trajectory and guide the driver to a better path.
Astemo also is advancing new technology for suspensions, such as a camera mounted in a vehicle’s nose to preview road surfaces and potential bumps. It has AI-powered control logic to adjust the suspension on the fly, according to Harsha Badarinarayan, Astemo vice president of advanced engineering. Other new suspension features from Astemo include a damper system for off-road vehicles that can be calibrated first using AI in a virtual lab, which eliminates the need for physical prototypes, Badarinarayan says.
Another future-looking technology is Astemo’s latest braking tech, featuring an electro-mechanical brake-by-wire system that could help steer the vehicle to safety in an emergency. Dubbed Smart Brake, the technology reduces the lag between the pressure from the driver and brake response. Astemo officials say the e-pedal design, because it eliminates the traditional hydraulic connection between pedal and brake, has caught the attention of European manufacturers, who face regulatory pressure to minimize the use of fluids in their vehicles.
The supplier says the new brake-by-wire tech also can simplify assembly, help extend battery range and reduce the need for maintenance.
Astemo is emerging as a major Tier 1 supplier, following a series of acquisitions and its separation from Hitachi, the Japanese electronics giant. It is preparing for an IPO next year, according to Clark, and currently is part of a joint-venture company controlled by Hitachi, Honda and JIC Capital. These changes have led to a name change to Astemo Americas from Hitachi Astemo in the Americas.
The Americas region accounts for about $5 billion of the supplier’s $16 billion in annual revenue, and among its largest automaker customers are Honda, General Motors, Ford, Nissan and Volvo. The U.S.-based business is doing well enough that it has outgrown its current headquarters and technical center in this Detroit suburb and is looking for another site in the area, according to Clark.
Rare-Earth Shortage Fears
While Astemo Americas is touting future technologies, it is keeping close watch on the present state of the auto industry. Clark says he’s tracking the feud over tariffs between the U.S. and China, a dispute that threatens to cut off the supply of magnets used across the industry for electric motors, both large and small, for speakers and other vehicle components.
The concerns revolve around China’s decision to curtail exports of rare-earth magnets. China has relented to a small degree so the magnets can be exported if they are built into a component.
“It’s getting to be a real problem,” says Clark, noting some suppliers in the U.S. already have been forced to curtail production, which could threaten vehicle assemblies across the country. “It’s taking longer to get the export licenses from China,” adds Rob Sharpe, Astemo senior vice president of sales and marketing. “It’s becoming something like the semiconductor crisis,” when the pandemic earlier in the decade created unanticipated shortages of a key building block of modern vehicles.
Astemo, like other suppliers, is scrambling to prepare for shortages triggered by the tariff spat. “It’s becoming a test of our resiliency,” adds Sharpe, who notes Astemo is looking for alternatives to rare-earth magnets across the automotive industry.
