INTERNATIONAL
Continental makes turbochargers in China
In 2011 Continental made an instant and highly successful impact with its entry into the turbocharger market, rapidly establishing itself at the head of the field with innovative and multi-award-winning products. Now the technology company is also looking to expand its geographic footprint in this segment with the opening of a turbocharger plant at its site in Jiading, a suburb of Shanghai, China.
Since October, this new facility has been producing the cutting-edge RAAX turbocharger, developed by Continental for the Volkswagen Group’s EA888 Gen.3B engine platform. The same is in production in Europe since 2016 for Audi A3. In the Chinese market, this 2.0-litre turbocharged gasoline engine will debut in the VW Teramont SUV, followed by the VW Tiguan and other high-volume models.
Meanwhile, at Continental, preparations are under way for the next round of expansion. This is scheduled for 2018, when production of the RAAX turbocharger – for the same Volkswagen Group engine – will launch at the Continental plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. “Right from the start, our turbocharger activities have been focused on the gasoline segment, and now this strategy has been vindicated by a sharp rise in demand for turbocharged gasoline engines,” Wolfgang Breuer, head of Continental’s Engine Systems business unit, which includes the Turbochargers product line, said. “The new Chinese facility, where our latest technologies will be built to the highest quality standards, will secure us a strong position in the world’s largest automobile market. And by next year, when production commences in North America, we will have manufacturing bases across all 3 market regions, all operating to the same high standards,” he said.
The RAAX turbine technology developed by Continental, which first went for production in the EA888 engine platform, improves engine response and increases efficiency. While the most common type of gasoline turbocharger today, the radial turbocharger, features a radial exhaust gas flow to the turbine wheel, the new Continental turbocharger features Fa radial-axial flow – hence the name RAAX.
This makes it possible to reduce the size of the turbine wheels, and to reduce the mass moment of inertia by approximately 40%. The turbocharger therefore develops boost pressure more quickly in response to changing engine loads, and turbo lag is minimised. This greater efficiency also leads to reduce emissions. A new solution has also been implemented for the wastegate valve (which stops boost pressure rising too steeply at high engine output) based on an electronically controlled electric actuator developed by Continental.
“We are entering the Chinese market with cutting-edge turbocharger technology identical to that which we are already using in Europe, to meet the strict European emission standards,” Udo Schwerdel, head of the Turbochargers product line at Engine Systems, said. The production processes too are identical to those used at the European plant in Trutnov, Czech Republic.
“We use standardised production processes and manufacturing equipment across all our operations worldwide. All the core processes we developed for our highly automated production system in Trutnov will also be used in Jiading and San Luis Potosi. This will help to facilitate and speed communication, employee training and sharing of lessons learned between the plants, and will support us in our goal of ensuring benchmark quality at all our sites across the world,” he said.
Continental employs 1,600 people in Jiading, where a range of products are built, including ABS systems. “This plant has been operating successfully for many years, and its mechanical engineering expertise will give us a useful head start when it comes to producing turbochargers,” Schwerdel said. From its current production footprint of about 2,000 square meters, the turbocharger facility is set to expand further next year with the construction of a new building.
Continental’s turbochargers cater to gasoline-powered car engines in all power classes. Along with RAAX systems, they also comprise a number of other innovative solutions.