Freescale and FAW Partner to Bring Next-Generation Technology to Automobiles in China

Freescale Semiconductor has announced a partnership with First Automobile Works (FAW), one of the leading automotive OEMs in China, and the establishment of a FAW-Freescale joint automotive lab. The joint lab will be established in the Technology Center of FAW and will be a shared research and development lab focusing on new technology R&D, powertrain control, chassis control, active safety, new energy technologies and other automotive electronics. FAW will integrate Freescale's industry-leading microcontrollers (MCUs) into its advanced automotive electronics platforms to develop leading-edge automotive electronics products. FAW, a diversified maker of quality trucks, buses, special vehicles, cars and mini-vehicles in China, is partnering with Freescale to shorten its vehicle development cycle and accelerate the production of next-generation automobiles. To support the joint lab, Freescale will provide cutting-edge technologies and system-level solutions, as well as semiconductor devices (such as the Qorivva MPC56xx family of 32-bit MCUs and Freescale's SafeAssure solutions for functional safety), development tools, reference platforms and dedicated support resources. "We are pleased to partner with FAW, the leading OEM automobile manufacturer in China, to deliver state-of-the-art automotive electronics technologies," said Ray Cornyn, vice president of Freescale's Automotive MCU division. "Freescale is leveraging our expertise in IC integration, manufacturing and quality to help FAW shorten its automobile development cycle. Our enabling technologies for automotive electronics will help FAW create world-class vehicles with a driver experience that is not only safe, but also good for the environment." "FAW is developing advanced vehicles through technological innovations," said Li Jun, deputy chief engineer and director of the Technology Center of FAW. "Automobile electronics is one of the five key focal points of FAW, and the core technology that we want to master. Partnering with Freescale will allow us to overcome technology difficulties we have encountered in the automobile electronics area as we strive to continue developing competitive vehicles, improve our integrated innovative capabilities and therefore realize our branding strategy, which is ‘Quality, Technology, Innovation.'" www.freescale.com