mahle and faurecia, both leading global automotive systems suppliers, will collaborate for the development of innovative interior thermal management technologies for future mobility solutions.

within the framework of this cooperation, faurecia will bring its unique expertise as a full interior system integrator. mahle adds its holistic thermal expertise for passenger comfort and energy efficiency.

the two companies have already identified several potential collaboration fields addressing topics such as air distribution, air conditioning integration solutions for electric vehicles and the mutual development of personalized thermal management for the cockpit of the future.

patrick koller, chief executive officer of faurecia, said, "this partnership will mark another important step for faurecia in the development of an innovation ecosystem for the cockpit of the future. it follows on from the partnership with zf announced earlier this year for advanced safety solutions.

“our industry is undergoing a major transformation and such alliances will allow us to rapidly bring to market new solutions. our strong combined expertise and customer intimacy will enable us to provide a unique technology offer ensuring the thermal management of vehicle occupants in various driving use cases."  

wolf-henning scheider, chairman of the mahle management board and ceo, said, "thermal management is one of the significant enablers of future mobility concepts. mahle thermoelectric technologies will enable completely new solutions for interior thermal comfort.

“within new e-mobility vehicles the efficiency of air conditioning systems and new packaging solutions will play an important role to enable higher driving ranges and new opportunities for the arrangement within the cabin interior. with the combined innovations in this partnership, we will drive the unique technologies for the automotive megatrends of e-mobility together."

with new occupant positions in the autonomous car and additional comfort features being added into the interior, innovative thermal management solutions will be required to ensure occupant comfort in all positions.

in addition, the rapid increase in the number of full electric vehicle platforms will require the development of smart cabin thermal management solutions with optimized energy consumption and packaging.