TRW's Electrically Assisted Steering Systems Winning OE Customers.(Fiat and Renault )(Brief Article)

TRW Inc. said it has been awarded contracts of over $900 million from Fiat and Renault for its Electrically Assisted Steering (EAS) products. These contract awards bring TRW's annual sales for its EAS products to approximately $500 million, it said.

Both Fiat and Renault have awarded TRW contracts for its column-drive Electric Power Steering (EPS) systems for the Fiat Stilo and Renault Megane vehicles, according to TRW. The column-drive EPS system for Fiat will be launched at the TRW Chassis Systems facility at Holford Drive in Birmingham, England, and rolled out to TRW's steering plant in Livorno, Italy, the company said. The EPS system for Renault will be launched at TRW's Pamplona, Spain, steering plant, it added.

"These contracts demonstrate our technology leadership in chassis systems and further strengthen our number one market position within steering," said John Plant, president and chief executive officer, TRW Chassis Systems. "We expect more than $1 billion in annual sales for our EAS steering systems by 2006."

Demand is expected to continue to boom for electric steering technology, eventually increasing to an estimated one out of every two cars built by the year 2010, TRW predicts. TRW said its electric steering portfolio offers customers simplified vehicle assembly, increased fuel economy, better vehicle handling and improved safety.

Previous TRW EAS contract wins include the Volkswagen PQ24 and the Opel Astra and Zafira models for TRW's Electrically Powered Hydraulic Steering (EPHS).

TRW's electric steering business is part of TRW Chassis Systems.

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