Munich, Germany and Seoul, Korea: Development of automotive electronics is the crux of a cooperation agreement between Infineon Technologies and the Hyundai Motor Company. As part of the joint venture, the companies opened an innovation centre at the Yangjae-dong headquarters of the Hyundai- Kia Automotive Group in Seoul.
Overall, the cooperative deal includes the development of automotive electronics system architecture and related semiconductors. Other aspects of the deal involve enhancements of Hyundai’s current automotive electronic systems.
The Hyundai Infineon Innovation Centre (HIIC) will work on the functional and cost optimisation of car electronics systems, as well as the design and development of system architectures. That will include the design of ECUs and ASICs in power-train, safety, and body applications for Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
One such vehicle could well be Hyundai-Kia’s concept car, or rather dune buggy, called the Sandstorm (shown here). The biodiesel/electric plug-in hybrid vehicle features solar-powered cooling and built-in detachable recycling bins. In fact, the body polyethylene teraphthalate (PETE) panels could be switched out and recycled to give the vehicle a new look.
The companies expect the first jointly developed products to be used in Hyundai and Kia cars by the year 2010.
