Nexteer Automotive sets up two new facilities in Bangalore and Chennai, India
Nexteer Automotive, a Michigan headquartered automotive parts supplier, is expanding its global operations with two new facilities in South India: a new software centre in Bangalore and a new production facility in Chennai. Nexteer is a global manufacturer of steering and driveline products.
The production facility in Chennai will manufacture Nexteer’s safety-critical Electric Power Steering (EPS) systems and driveline products while the new software centre in Bangalore will support the growing demand for software-enabled functionality in advanced steering applications.
Nexteer’s India Software Centre (ISC) in Bangalore focuses on downstream software production and validation — ensuring quality and compliance with regulations. Meanwhile, Nexteer’s Global Technical Centre in the US, in tandem with regional Technical Centres in Poland and China, will continue upstream software development and R&D innovation.
“Software plays an increasingly important role in the safety and performance of Nexteer’s advanced steering systems,” said Robin Milavec, Vice President of Global Engineering, Nexteer Automotive. “We view our software and electronic capabilities as key differentiators — especially as the market demand and steering function complexity grows with driver assist features and varying levels of automated driving. Nexteer is committed to deploying a best-in-class global team that delivers innovative solutions with speed, flexibility and seamless vehicle integration.”
Currently, Nexteer’s ISC employs almost 100 Nexteer software engineers with plans to grow to 200 employees by the end of 2019. These engineers work on all aspects of software and calibration projects — from architecture development through delivery.
“As part of Nexteer’s global team, the ISC engineers work on the industry’s leading edge — creating designs for varying levels of automated driving and cyber security,” said Usha Holalkere, Engineering and Operations Director, Nexteer India Software Centre.
The Chennai Production Facility
Nexteer’s third manufacturing plant in India, the new Chennai facility, covers almost 90,000 square feet. It expands regional production capacity for EPS systems which enable ADAS features, such as lane keeping, park assist, lane departure warning, traffic assist and more.
“The opening of Nexteer’s facility in Chennai and our expanded production capacity in India are important pieces in our global strategy and represent our confidence in the growth potential of the automotive market within this region,” said Tao Liu, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Operating Officer, Nexteer Automotive.
