Germany's Minister of Transport, Alexander Dobrindt, visits Schaeffler

• The Federal Minister of Transport, Alexander Dobrindt, learns about Schaeffler’s innovative mobility solutions
• Electric mobility is the focus of discussions
• Presentation of the hybrid concept vehicle and Bio-Hybrid vehicle

Alexander Dobrindt, the German Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, used his visit at Schaeffler to learn about the company’s innovative mobility solutions. The family shareholders Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler-Thumann and Georg F. W. Schaeffler welcomed the minister together with Klaus Rosenfeld, Chief Executive Officer, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Gutzmer, Deputy CEO and Chief Technology Officer at the headquarters in Herzogenaurach. Among other things, they presented Schaeffler’s “Mobility for tomorrow” strategy and provided an overview of how Schaeffler intends to shape the fields of electric mobility and digitalization.

“Schaeffler is a good example of how German companies successfully develop innovative mobility solutions”, said Alexander Dobrindt, the German Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

Klaus Rosenfeld explained the “Mobility for tomorrow” strategy that focuses on four central megatrends in modern times: Climate change, urbanization, globalization, and digitalization. Four fields of activity have derived from these megatrends, which is what the Schaeffler Group is now focusing on as a globally active automotive and industrial supplier. These fields are environmentally-friendly drives, urban mobility, interurban mobility, and optimizing the energy chain. Klaus Rosenfeld said: “As a supplier, our intension is to contribute to making the world somewhat cleaner, safer, and smarter with our ‘Mobility for tomorrow’ strategy. This applies to both our automotive and our industrial sector.”

Two fields of activity in particular, “environmentally-friendly drives” and “urban mobility”, were the main focus during the discussions. Schaeffler develops solutions for the electrification of the vehicle drive for both hybrid and fully electrically-driven vehicles. The majority of these product innovations are already being tested in concept vehicles. Mr. Dobrindt took a test drive on one of these vehicles, more precisely in the “Schaeffler High Performance 48 Volt” vehicle. The concept vehicle reveals the potential of 48-volt hybridization, and, thanks to energy recuperation which occurs during deceleration, fuel consumption is considerably reduced, resulting in significantly lower emissions. While other hybrid vehicles operate with high voltages, Schaeffler uses a 48-volt on-board electric system in this vehicle in order to make all-electric driving possible at low speeds.

The Bio-Hybrid developed by Schaeffler is an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional vehicles in the steadily increasing urban traffic. As far as size and range is concerned, the vehicle sits somewhere between a pedelec and a small electric car. During his visit, Mr. Dobrindt got behind the steering wheel and stepped on the pedals.

Chief Technology Officer Prof. Gutzmer explained to the minister the functioning and advantages of Schaeffler's innovative developments, such as the electric axle and the mechatronic roll control system. “In view of the growing demand for innovative mobility solutions, we are planning to expand our electric mobility sector significantly. This includes automobiles with both hybrid drive trains and fully-electric vehicles. Here, we can benefit from our comprehensive systems expertise.”

Find more information on the “Mobility for tomorrow“ strategy, Mobility, Bio-Hybrid and Digitalization at Schaeffler.