Faurecia Interior Systems, a Business Group of Faurecia, world leader in vehicle interior systems, and Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS), leader in the development and production of automotive CD & DVD modules, have signed a technical and business agreement to jointly develop in-vehicle wireless charging modules for nomadic devices.
Through the partnership with PLDS, Faurecia is making a step to offer smart functions that help create vehicles with high perceived quality interiors. The partnership enables the integration of wireless connectivity compatible with the vehicle’s central electronic architecture and properly integrated in the interior cockpit of the vehicle. This way, a comprehensive solution for in-vehicle wireless charging can be offered to automakers, providing full integration into the driver surroundings, such as center console, glove box, instrument panel and door panel.
The agreement between the two companies focuses on the joint development of an open platform compliant with Qi , the standard solution for automotive wireless charging, by the end of 2012. The Qi standard is backed by a group called the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), comprising more than 100 companies including the industry leaders in mobile phones, consumer electronics, batteries, semiconductors, components, wireless power technology and infrastructure such as wireless operators, furniture and automotive parts companies.
“Faurecia is aiming at further reinforcing its worldwide leadership in vehicle interiors by integrating comfort and human machine interface functionalities in its field of competence, where innovative end-user functions, such as wireless charging, are instrumental to increase the added-value offered to automakers,” said Christophe Schmitt, Executive Vice-President of Faurecia in charge of Interior Systems.
“We are very excited about the cooperation with Faurecia because this partnership will empower the seamless integration of wireless charging into any place of the car interior. The most important aspect for the partners is the acceptance by carmakers and consumers,” said Juergen Heck, CTO & Managing Director of PLDS. “I am convinced that PLDS and Faurecia can achieve a fruitful cooperation for future in-vehicle electronic innovations beyond wireless charging.“