STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 23, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- One of the most striking innovations at the Paris Auto Show -- that opens this week -- is the world's first steering wheel with a fixed hub. Thanks to this innovation, the frontal airbag for the driver no longer has to be round. The shape and the design of the bag can instead be optimized to provide the best possible protection in a crash. Additionally, the Fixed-Hub Steering Wheel offers improved convenience for car drivers and greater design freedom for vehicle manufacturers. Indicators and controls can be placed on the steering wheel, instead of being squeezed into tightly-packed instrument panels. The new system will first appear on Citroen's new C4 model which will be launched this fall.
To date, driver airbags have had to be round and symmetrical. The top of the bag should protect both the occupant's head, when the wheel is not turned, and the abdomen and chest, when the wheel is turned. However, the head and the chest have different weights and are at different distances to the bag. Consequently, the top and the bottom of a driver airbag can not be optimized for just one body part, unlike passenger bags which are fixed and can be rectangular.
To address this situation, Autoliv started almost ten years ago to explore the feasability of designing a new steering wheel with a fixed hub. In 1998, a preliminary design concept was accepted by Citroen. For the last six years, Autoliv's engineers have worked tirelessly in collaboration with Citroen to fine-tune the concept and to ensure that the new Fixed-Hub Steering Wheel is as reliable, durable, comfortable and easy-to-handle as traditional steering wheels. In addition, it has been imperative to make the Fixed-Hub Steering Wheel affordable in regular passenger cars despite its more complex design. These targets have now been accomplished and Citroen's new C4 model is the first vehicle where car buyers will be offered this enhanced crash protection.
The new concept provides another much desired advantage. To date, steering wheels have required a complex and expensive coil mechanism in order to ensure uninterrupted electrical connections for radios, telephones and other electrical controls. Without a coil, the wires in a traditional steering wheel would not have been able to withstand the constant turning during the long life of a vehicle. The Fixed-Hub Steering Wheel eliminates the turning problem and hence the coil. As a result, an almost unlimited number of direct cable connections can be made, and the car designers provided the freedom to locate many more controls on the steering wheel where they will be easily accessible at a fingertip's distance and more visible, instead of having to put them on the instrument panel. In the new C4, for instance, Citroen has used this freedom to put as many as 21 controls on the steering wheel.
Autoliv's Fixed-Hub Steering Wheel concept also offers several advantages in the design of future airbags, since designers will not have to make as many compromises as today, when there is no alternative to a symmetrically shaped driver bag. The new greater freedom of design can be used to make driver airbags more efficient without the need for them to be more powerful and intrusive. As a consequence, the Fixed-Hub Steering Wheel offers the promise of enhanced protection to the driving public and new solutions to vehicle manufacturers faced with ever-increasing crash test requirements.
Currently, feasibility studies are under way on behalf of other vehicle manufacturers than Citroen wanting to include the Fixed-Hub Steering Wheel in their next vehicle models.
For questions and comments, please contact: -- Hugues Vendrand, Steering Wheel Research & Dev. Manager. Tel +33 05 49 39 61 10.
Autoliv Inc. develops and manufactures automotive safety systems for all major automotive manufactures in the world, such as BMW, Mercedes, General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford, Porsche, Toyota, Daimler Chrysler, Peugeot, Suzuki, Dacia Renault etc. Together with its joint ventures, Autoliv has 80 facilities with over 38,000 employees in 30 countries. In addition, the Company has technical centers in nine countries around the world, including 20 test racks, more than any other automotive safety supplier. Autoliv produces safety seat belts, airbags, steering wheels, electronics and the sales in 2003 amounted to US $5.3 billion. The Company's shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:ALV) and its Swedish Depository Receipts on the OM Stockholm Stock Exchange (SSE:ALIV).
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