At a press conference ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show, Michael Perschke, CEO of Automobili Pininfarina, along with Johannes-Jörg Rüger, CEO of Bosch Engineering GmbH, and Ralf Göttel, CEO of BENTELER, announced a strategic collaboration to jointly develop a high-performance electric vehicle platform.
Automobili Pininfarina, Bosch Engineering and BENTELER will evaluate the best technical concept as well as the market potential for the platform that will underpin future Automobili Pininfarina cars.
The parties have also agreed to evaluate opportunities to provide a basis for other car brands’ performance EVs to attain added synergies and enable a more rapid adoption of electro-mobility across all market segments, including the fast-growing luxury and performance markets.
Automobili Pininfarina recently confirmed its strategic plan to bring to market a range of highperformance and luxury electric vehicles that will follow the critically acclaimed Battista electric hypercar, which is due to begin production in late 2020 in Italy. Illustrated by Design Director Luca Borgogno through his PURA Vision design model, Automobili Pininfarina’s future range of vehicles will feature pure-electric performance based on three clear values: beautiful design, exceptional luxury and thrilling performance.
Michael Perschke, CEO, Automobili Pininfarina, stated: “Today’s announcement marks a pivotal and transformative point for Automobili Pininfarina as we and our partners leverage our leading position on design as well as our world-class engineering capabilities to significantly advance our mission to bring to market a portfolio of world-class luxury performance electric vehicles. The development of the Battista electric hypercar has provided us with confidence that with the right partners we can design and build beautiful, technically advanced and innovative luxury electric cars that perform as well as they look.
“It is our ambition to see the EV market grow and expand with added offerings across the luxury and performance segments, something that we are confident will be received with much enthusiasm by car enthusiasts and environmentally conscious consumers alike.
“In cooperation with Bosch Engineering and BENTELER, I am confident in our ability to be able to bring to market a genuinely innovative performance electric vehicle platform that will accelerate the adoption of emission-free vehicles, particularly in the luxury sector. While other EV platforms are being developed, this collaboration marks the first initiative among three world-class partners to develop a platform specifically tailored to the luxury and performance electric vehicle plans of Automobili Pininfarina and potentially other carmakers looking to make progress in this sector.”
Johannes-Jörg Rüger, CEO, Bosch Engineering GmbH, commented: “A growing trend in electromobility is the increasing demand for system solutions. With our technology and systems integration expertise and capabilities, we are able to play a decisive role in bringing high-quality electric vehicles to the market – also in the high-performance area. Being recognised for our unwavering commitment to quality and reliability, the main area of collaboration is in sub-systems like braking, steering, vehicle controller and driver assistance. Additionally, we bring our knowledge in the fields of electric and electronic architectures as well as in safety and security concepts. As an engineering service provider, Bosch Engineering has significant experience and knowhow given our many years of proficiency in the integration of components at system level and customised application and calibration activities.”
For BENTELER, the collaboration confirms the functionality and performance of its electro-mobility solutions under real-world conditions. Ralf Göttel, CEO, BENTELER, explained: “Automobili Pininfarina will benefit from our tailor-made electro-mobility solutions through reduced development time. We are glad to be working with a partner like Automobili Pininfarina and look forward to the positive results of our collaboration.”
“Offering electro-mobility solutions is a natural step for BENTELER. We produce, for example, electrified chassis solutions, battery storage systems and the BENTELER Electric Drive System 2.0,” added Marco Kollmeier, Vice President of BENTELER’s Electro-Mobility business unit. “As a result, we will help car manufacturers leverage the increasing opportunities that electro-mobility offers consumers, society and the manufacturers themselves.”
Joining Michael Perschke and Luca Borgogno was Dr Christian Jung, Chief Technical Officer, Automobili Pininfarina, who added: “The beauty of electrification is that the combination of batteries, motors and chassis provides a relatively modular concept around which to develop a range of cars. The greatest challenge is turning this flexible concept and theory into reality and doing so at a pace that will support the rapid growth in EV demand. We are confident that our collaboration with Bosch Engineering and BENTELER will enable us to be successful in overcoming these challenges as we further assess the potential of a platform to address the unique requirements of a range of true luxury performance electric cars.”
