Freescale and Chery Join Efforts to Develop Automotive Electronics Technology in China

Chery Automobile Co. Ltd and Freescale Semiconductor have announced plans to establish a joint automotive lab aimed at co-developing silicon, software and system-level solutions for use in Chery vehicles for Chinese and export markets.

Freescale and Chery have partnered extensively in powertrain and engine control. In particular, the Chery engine management system (EMS) project based on Freescale’s S12XE microcontroller (MCU) has been a significant achievement. The two companies also plan to explore joint development in automotive application areas, such as body electronics, powertrain technology, hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and in-vehicle entertainment electronics. The planned technology collaboration is expected to involve a wide range of Freescale MCU platforms, including Freescale’s 32-bit Power Architecture MCUs, 16-bit S12X and 8-bit S08 devices, as well as analog power management ICs.

“Freescale is an excellent partner for Chery in developing automotive electronics solutions,” said Jianhui Lu, vice president of Chery Automotive. “The collaboration combines both companies’ complementary strengths in electronic architectures and software development. With the help of Freescale’s IC integration, semiconductor manufacturing and IC quality capabilities, Chery will grow its automotive electronics product development capability.”

Chery and Freescale plan to cooperate in multiple areas and a wide range of applications. The two companies, in concert with third-party partners, plan to co-develop electronic control unit (ECU) hardware and low-level drivers, high-level software interface and modeling tools, demonstration boards, in-vehicle networking solutions, body control modules, HEV control units and more.

Chery recently developed its own EMS using Freescale’s S12XE MCUs for the entry-level automotive market. This EMS will be used soon in Chery vehicles manufactured in production volume. Chery plans to migrate its next-generation EMS to 32-bit MCU technology, and Freescale’s MPC55xx family of Power Architecture MCUs is expected to be Chery’s preferred choice. Successful cooperation around this EMS project has accelerated collaboration between both companies and also provides an excellent paradigm for future joint development.

“As China’s leading independent automaker and the first to export Chinese-designed and manufactured vehicles, Chery is a growth engine for China’s extraordinary rise in the global automotive market,” said Paul Grimme, senior vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Microcontroller Solutions Group. “Through close collaboration and joint research and development, Freescale and Chery intend to drive breakthroughs in cost-effective body electronics, powertrain, body electronics and HEV solutions into next-generation automotive system designs.”

Automotive manufacturing in China – the world's second largest automotive market after the US – surged by more than 22 percent in 2007 to a record 8.8 million vehicle units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. China exported 413,500 finished vehicles, including cars, buses and trucks, in the first 10 months of 2007, up 64 percent from the same period of 2006, according to Commerce Ministry figures. The majority of China’s automotive exports target developing nations. According to the auto research firm J.D. Power and Associates, China could overtake the United States as the world’s top automotive market some time after 2015.