Automotive News - June 23, 2008 - (Page 16a)

JUNE 23, 2008 • 16A TRW exec: We’re in the ‘sweet spot’ for growth As executive vice president of sales and business development at TRW Automotive Inc., Peter Lake oversees the company’s global strategies for customers, partners, products and marketing. Lake, a London native, joined LucasVarity Automotive in 1978 and held a variety of positions there until TRW acquired LucasVarity in 1999. He took on his current responsibilities as vice president in 2002 and was named executive vice president in 2004. TRW, of suburban Detroit, supplies safety products ranging from passive systems such as airbags to active systems such as adaptive cruise control, electric steering and stability control. In 2007, the company posted revenue of $14.7 billion. Lake spoke with Crain’s Detroit Business Staff Reporter Ryan Beene about TRW’s growth opportunities and the future of its products. nology, you really have to look at the payback associated with the sort of functionality you are providing, and it’s very difficult for a new technology to offer you more for the same sort of value as you can provide with the sort of products that are in mass production today. How does a consumer become aware of the benefits of more advanced technology that brings an added price premium? Does the responsibility to communicate that benefit fall at the feet of the supplier or the automaker? It’s the vehicle manufacturer who TRW’s Peter Lake: “We have products that appeal to the emissions market.” must decide the pros and cons of adopting a particular technology and making the choices in terms of what will and what will not sell the vehicle. What we can do in the supplier industry is be very clear that, for example, in our space, safety and emissions have great resonance with the end user. It’s up to us to understand and respond to those market trends and almost be ahead of those trends in offering the vehicle manufacturer something that helps him sell the vehicle. Do you see new technologies available now on high-line vehicles making their way on to more mid- and economy-line vehicles ? More and more of these intelligent systems will be fitted on vehicles. Think ahead to an environment where gasoline is $20 a gallon or road congestion is so bad that you’re not going to drive large vehicles. I’m going to want these safety systems on my small vehicle. As these technologies become more commonplace, will it eventually create a critical mass to enable vehicles to have some really advanced integrated systems? If you start from a vehicle that has none of these things, you think, “My God, it’s too pricey.” But once you’ve got vehicle stability, electric steering; and you add some sensors, software, algorithms, sensor fusion, suddenly you’ve got the potential available to you at relatively modest incremental cost. c Q&A Energy independence and cleaner air, by the bushel. With more than two million ﬂex fuel systems already in service and a broad range of other proven alternative powertrain technology solutions, Continental helps make alternative fuels from a variety of sources a practical reality. For example, our modular ﬂex fuel system provides long, trouble-free service, because it withstands the corrosive effects of E85 and biodiesel blends while handling ethanol’s higher ﬂow rates. There are also innovative Continental hybrid vehicle technologies to help you achieve your green goals. Make sure Continental is on your team. Together, we can help America achieve energy independence and cleaner air. Continental Automotive Systems and Siemens VDO have now joined forces to create one, great Continental team. Call 248-393-5300 today. Do you anticipate TRW’s sales mix by product to change? We’ve seen a lot of growth in occupant safety, and a lot of that growth has been in passive safety systems driven by regulation. So I don’t see so much growth in some of the mature markets for that product range, but I do see a lot of passive safety products growth opportunities in emerging markets. If you think about vehicle build in India, China or even South America, we’re going to see those markets develop. We’re (also) going to see an increasing emphasis on active-safety growth. Which arena provides more growth opportunity in the long term — active systems in developed markets or passive systems in emerging markets? We’re going to see growth coming from a number of areas. We’re fortunate to be in a sweet spot of safety, generally, but also emissions. Everyone thinks of TRW as a safety company, but we have products that appeal to the emissions market. Electric steering is one of the fundamental building blocks of active safety and integrated safety, but it’s also something that provides 3 to 4 percent fuel economy and CO2 advantages. So we do see that even in the mature markets where perhaps vehicle build is reducing, in content growth there are some good opportunities there. Passive safety, driven by increased vehicle build and increasing adoption of global regulations in markets like India or China, will provide attractive growth opportunities for us. We shouldn’t avoid the fact that 85 to 90 percent of our business is in these mature markets, and we’re still seeing growth opportunity there. We’re going to continue to grow across all of the three principal regions. What’s holding back the proliferation of new technologies like brakeby-wire systems? There are two significant retardants. The first is the power available on the vehicle. The second is cost, and, quite frankly, they are both interrelated. In introducing a new tech- www.continental-corporation.com ©2008 Continental http://www.continental-corporation.com http://www.continental-corporation.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - June 23, 2008

TRW exec: We're in the 'sweet spot' for growth 'Like house of cards,' used trucks fall Detroit 3 a big drag in global supplier race Ford rethinks big-block V-8 plan Looters and broken levees Plastech's Brown stands to get $9.25 million Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Hunt takes job at Gallup Lawmakers urge roof rule rewrite Webinar offers tips on going green Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Webasto sees more demand for retractable hard tops Why small isn't always big To move metal, hire an Ironman Chevy limits ZR1 Corvette to top dealers Lithium ion battery is key to hybrid growth With Russia hot, Ford will boost Europe production BMW exec: We can grow in U.S. The man who put the wind in GM's sales GM's parts ordering comes down to Earth More Fits for U.S. in fall GM: Volt buyers deserve tax credit Mercedes exec seeks more exclusive technology from suppliers Bosch, Mahle execs to lead turbo venture Supplier personnel ZF moves steering operations in Ky. Slowing Volvo, Saab add to Sweden's industry woes Feds: Drivers don't have to hang up phones Magna eyes new growth strategy: Powertrain-driveline modules Alleged sales scam snares Ohio dealers GM center troubleshoots IT in plants around the world Senator: Plants have capacity for plug-ins Lots of talk but little to show Going green pays off The Detroit 3 are smart to cut sales to fleets Drop Mercury? No; Ford needs it Awareness isn't GM's problem Leno was off base in bashing U.S. cars Roofs, rollovers and reckless driving Big-truck sales fall 15.2% in May Serra deal reflects GM channel strategy No. 2 vehicle hauler to go out of business Chinese company's car looks a lot like a Mini Honda taps star power for fuel cell car Dealer wanted media attention — and got it Dealers European sales dip 7.8% in May Merger gives Hughes Telematics a cash boost Mexico sales bounce back in April Suzuki dealers test system to turn Web leads into sales Bosch-Samsung venture to make lithium batteries Hyundai plans Elantra hybrid for Korea in '09 RV sales drop 8.5% in April Japan’s best-kept secret Utilities join automakers for plug-in r&d Ford likely to build '11 Focus at 2 plants Glut of '08 Ford F-150s delays launch of '09s '09 Porsche SUV prices rise Ford calls off Ohio plant sale Ford idles Mich. truck plant CarMax net earnings decline Dodge Journeys recalled 2009 Chrysler hybrid SUVs start at $45,340 GOP: Climate bills would make $4 gas look cheap EVs on eBay: It's all the rage In terms of market value, the General is a buck private Sign of the times: Hummer store to be used-car lot Bob Stempel's legacy is the future Flying 1 series? It's BMW's joke Dealer hurt in sky-dive navigates the road to recovery Opel car recognizes signs; BMW plans similar system JCI, Magna unit buy main parts of Plastech The little engines that could Suppliers to the 2008 Dodge Viper

Automotive News - June 23, 2008

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