TRW Automotive is confirming it will add 1,000 engineers at its new research and development plant in China as part of its increasing presence in the region.
The facility at Anting, around one hour from Shanghai, will open next year and is an additional technical centre to complement the existing electronics base.
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“The technical centre [at Anting] is research and development testing and application testing,” a TRW spokeswoman told just-auto. “The 1,000 positions are additional.”
TRW was outlining the Chinese move as well as its latest safety technology and prototype thinking at this week’s ‘ride and drive’ event at the Hockenheim Ring racetrack in Germany.
“In Europe, there has been significant improvement in fatalities and injuries caused by cars, but with the massive growth in new makes, road traffic accidents were the leading cause of death,” said the TRW spokeswoman. “We are getting more and more cars on the road, where the road environment is not as good as it could be.
“There is a decade of action for road safety aimed at 50% reduction of those potential fatalities, working with governments and legislation, but also road safety products all around the world.”
TRW emphasised at the briefing how much Euro NCAP’s five star rating system would progressively influence manufacturers from 2013 – 2017 and that without systems such as automatic emergency braking, producers would not achieve the ranking.
“NCAP really is driving changes into getting intelligent, advanced systems that are realistic, not just for the high end, but for every family car,” said the TRW spokeswoman.
“It is not enough to have these systems on luxury models – it must be somebody passing their test in China is driving a model that is safe. We have a very clear product strategy, particularly making sure there is safety available to everyone.”
