Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
August 31, 2015 02:00 AM

Toyota's top suppliers prepare a tech blitz

Hans Greimel
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Toyota Motor Corp.
    Toyota Motor Corp. suppliers are preparing to land a spot on the automaker's Toyota New Global Architecture program, which will open the potential for new technology across multiple vehicles.

    TOKYO — Steer-by-wire systems. Plastic active grille shutters. More efficient regenerative braking. Direct-shift automatic transmissions.

    Those are just some of the advanced technologies Toyota Motor Corp.'s key suppliers are readying for the world's biggest automaker.

    The systems will start arriving as early as next year, linked to Toyota's shift to a new, commonized vehicle platform called Toyota New Global Architecture.

    The sampling of technology on tap, outlined through interviews with several Toyota Group suppliers, underscores how the carmaker's top parts makers are innovating amid new competitive pressures.

    As Toyota rolls out the TNGA vehicles, starting with the arrival of the redesigned Prius hybrid this year, parts increasingly will be developed to international specifications.

    Aisin Seiki's Yasumori Ihara: Toyota's key suppliers “will lose out to our competitors if we do not respond to Toyota's aspirations.”

    Opening the door

    That will open the door to more sourcing from rival global megasuppliers, such as Germany's Robert Bosch GmbH.

    Today, about 60 percent of the parts in an average Toyota vehicle are sourced from Toyota Group companies, joined by interlocking shareholdings. Those keiretsu relationships have been a source of frustration for major non-Japanese suppliers trying to break into Toyota's supplier ranks. But that percentage could fall rapidly as Toyota looks afield for competitive suppliers.

    "I think we will lose out to our competitors if we do not respond to Toyota's aspirations for TNGA," said Yasumori Ihara, a former global purchasing head at Toyota who recently took over as president of Aisin Seiki Co., Toyota's No. 2 supplier.

    Among Aisin Seiki's planned product pitches: a new automatic transmission that employs locking gears for a more direct, efficient transfer of power through the drivetrain, similar to a manual. It will be deployed in one of the automaker's vehicles in 2016.

    Ihara declined to give details of the new transmission. But the technology could be similar to the direct-shift gearboxes deployed by Volkswagen AG or the eight-speed direct-shift transmission in the Lexus RC F, which uses clutch lockup.

    Aisin also is developing active grille shutters that close like a venetian blind at high speeds to improve aerodynamics.

    Such technology, which typically uses thermoplastics in the shutters, currently is found on luxury cars, select pickups and vehicles that target segment-leading fuel economy. Aisin aims to target its grille shutters at compact cars, which likely will expand their use throughout the industry.

    Heat, cold storage

    At Toyota's biggest supplier, Denso Corp., engineers are developing new heat and cold storage systems to improve fuel economy.

    The heat storage system is an onboard heat sink that saves wasted engine heat and then discharges it quickly to heat the engine's lubricating oil.

    Warmer oil helps reduce friction loss when the engine starts from a cold stop, improving efficiency.

    At the other end of the spectrum, Denso is developing cold storage systems that work in tandem with stop-start systems.

    Stop-start systems shut down the engine to save gasoline when the car comes to a halt. But the downside is that the air conditioner's compressor shuts down at the same time.

    Denso's fix is a fan that blows air over a cold sink in the air conditioner's evaporator and into the cabin. That keeps the cabin cool without the need for the engine to keep running.

    Both technologies are key elements of Denso's fuel-saving product pipeline through 2025, research and development chief Yasushi Yamanaka said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Plastics In Politics Live — sign up for the next live
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Redline's ‘outrageous cultural behaviors' retain top employees
    2
    Material Insights: Polypropylene production — both virgin and recycled — in the spotlight
    3
    Redline buys Georgia-based Quality Holdings
    4
    Illinois, Utah see chemical recycling battles
    5
    Plastifab diversifies molding with Marchel acquisition
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified