I was with Magna International this week at its ‘Bumper to Bumper’ Innovations Day in Munich, where the global supplier was showcasing some of its technology including powertrain, exteriors, interiors and active safety among other elements.

Set in the old departure terminal of Munich Airport – they’ve left the former signage and control tower intact – the day featured a chance to chat to some senior Magna executives as well as participate in ride and drive opportunities.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

And the Canadian supplier had brought over some very senior executives such as its Magna Electronics global director advanced engineering, Georges Massing, from Germany and Magna Steyr director advanced development & product strategy, Gerhard Krachler, from Austria.

In addition there were also presentations from chief technical officer, Swamy Kotagiri and vice president of business development for Europe, Gerd Brusius, with the latter highlighting Magna’s global number one position in camera-based DAS products, closures and automotive pumps among other segments.

This is a serious company for obvious reasons. Enjoying a US$1.56bn net income on total sales of US$34.8bn, it is clearly among the big players of worldwide automotive suppliers, but I had a chance to witness at first hand some of the practical applications Magna technology can have.

See Also:

The supplier is not alone in this – it enjoys healthy competition with a raft of other global component manufacturers all striving to deliver vehicles that are having to rapidly adapt to the demands of the connected age – demands that are stretching engineering and scientific knowledge all the time – as well as the goal of zero car fatalities.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Gerhard Krachler – based near Magna’s Austrian stronghold of Graz where Magna Steyr will contract manufacture the BMW once Mini Countryman and Paceman production ends – provided a fascinating insight into the company’s composite materials work as well as showing me around the MILA concept car.

Some of the features, such as sliding windows to reduce weight and complexity, may not be to everyone’s taste, but rolling resistance improvements on tyres and wing mirror positioning are just some of the features that provide a holistic approach to reducing weight and therefore consumption.

The Mila comes replete with technologies from other Magna groups such as the video system and an active grille shutter system that improves aerodynamics. Weighing no more than 670kg, the MILA achieves a carbon footprint of less than 49g CO2 per kilometre.

Equally, Georges Massing’s department showed me the improvement in camera technology that allows automatic parking in tight spots, with a vast improvement in pixel quality that provides an interior picture of startling clarity.

Swamy Kotagiri outlined some of Magna’s thinking surrounding emissions, the environment, the regulatory field, changing consumer habits and safety, as well as the crucial issue of personal data protection in an age where consumers and their vehicles are awash with information.

Lane departure warning, blind spot detection and automated emergency braking, all as part of the thinking behind semi-autonomous driving, were also highlighted.

As I say, Magna uses the word holistic and the supplier’s suite of solutions to a vastly changing automotive landscape as consumer demand for connectivity and safety drives technology upwards, is comprehensive.

The fact it is providing those solutions – at the same time as its competitors are also striving to offer alternatives – means the consumer will ultimately benefit – as long as he is convinced it won’t be at the expense of soaring cost.

In an improving European economic landscape and as OEMs emerge from a downturn of unprecedented proportions, suppliers are offering not just practical solutions to global challenges, but are operating on a philosophical level of transportation concepts that promises to be of an increasingly radical nature.