Schaeffler Acquires Drive-By-Wire Technology For Autonomous Vehicles

The Schaeffler Group in co-operation with Roland Arnold and Paravan GmbH agreed on a master agreement for the formation of a joint venture company. The transaction is pending regulatory approval by Germany's Federal Cartel Office, however, all parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the deal. The object of the joint venture company, which will be called Schaeffler Paravan Technologie GmbH und Co. KG, is the further development of Paravan's 'Space Drive' drive-by-wire technology and the development and sale of mobility systems.

Schaeffler and @ParavanIndustry form the joint venture company "Schaeffler Paravan Technologie GmbH & Co. KG", which acquires SPACE DRIVE drive-by-wire technology from Paravan and Mover activities from Schaeffler. #AutonomousDriving #mobilityfortomorrow https://t.co/04GRMsLuze pic.twitter.com/kw1pLAYSMF

— Schaeffler Group (@SchaefflerGroup) August 6, 2018

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As part of the transaction, the joint venture will acquire Paravan's Space Drive technology. Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG will have a 90 per cent stake in the new company. A leading drive-by-wire technology, Space Drive was developed by Paravan GmbH to help drivers with physical disabilities by replacing cumbersome mechanical vehicle control systems with 100 per cent reliable, fully electronic systems.

Peter Gutzmer, Deputy CEO and CTO, Schaeffler AG said, "Today's agreement is a major milestone for Schaeffler. The acquisition of this tried and proven drive-by-wire technology gives us access to a key technology that will enable us to develop our Chassis Systems business division into a chassis systems integrator."

Dirk Kesselgruber said, "The Schaeffler Mover is primarily a platform for developing and industrializing future products for auto manufacturers. We see Space Drive as a functionally safe and reliable foundation for these products, and we will therefore actively pursue its systematic and customer-centric further development and refinement under the joint venture. Indeed, in the future we may even develop entire vehicle platforms for logistics and service companies."

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Under this new deal, the Schaeffler Group will contribute its Schaeffer Mover technology to the joint venture, where it will play a pivotal role. Schaeffler Mover is a concept for a small and highly versatile rolling chassis that is fully electric and can be combined with various body versions to support a range of different urban mobility and transport applications. Schaeffler unveiled the Mover concept to the public for the first time at its 2018 Annual General Meeting.

The new joint venture company will have its operational headquarters in Aichelau and Herzogenaurach and will be headed by a team comprising Paravan founder Roland Arnold as CEO, and Dirk Kesselgruber, head of the business division Chassis Systems at Schaeffler, and one other, yet-to-be-decided, employee of the Schaeffler Group.