Background text Webasto Car Roof Systems: More Air and Light While Driving

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1 Background text Webasto Car Roof Systems: More Air and Light While Driving Table of Content Webasto Car Roof Systems: More Air and Light While Driving Roof Systems and the Expertise of the Market Leader Classic Roof Systems: Tilting/Sliding Sunroofs and Spoiler Roofs Trendy: Panorama Roofs Solar Sunroofs: Parking Ventilation to Save Fuel Technologies for the Future Made by Webasto Lightweight construction in roof systems: polycarbonate Solar applications for charging the battery of hybrid and electric vehicles Light and safe: Webasto Glas ProTec What the Future Holds... 5 Webasto Group, September

2 Webasto Car Roof Systems: More Air and Light While Driving Fresh air, blue sky or a view of the stars: Modern pop-up tilting/sliding sunroofs and panorama roofs from Webasto offer car drivers a real outdoor feeling. The trend is now particularly towards large panorama roof systems they create a feeling of bright and open spaces inside the vehicle, making driving an emotional experience. Roof systems are the ideal complement to an air conditioning system because they provide an efficient exchange of air inside the vehicle. Studies have shown that this benefits the driver the most because he does not tire as quickly and therefore drives with increased concentration. The feeling of bright and open spaces inside the vehicle also counteracts fatigue. Now there is a wide range of different types of roof systems, in almost every model from well-known car manufacturers. While the customer makes his choice mainly depending on the design and convenient operation, quality and innovation are emphasized by manufacturers. 1. Roof Systems and the Expertise of the Market Leader As an innovative supplier to the automotive industry, Webasto developed both the tilting/sliding sunroof and the panorama roof and introduced them on the market. Today, Webasto is the global market leader for roof systems, offering a broad product portfolio: tilting/sliding sunroofs, spoiler roofs, panorama roofs and solar roofs. Based on technologies developed and produced in-house, Webasto roof systems satisfy the highest safety, design and comfort requirements, as well as the increased demand for lightweight solutions. 2. Classic Roof Systems: Tilting/Sliding Sunroofs and Spoiler Roofs Tilting/sliding sunroofs and spoiler roofs provide draft-free fresh air and a view of the sky. Tilting/sliding sunroofs are suitable for all vehicle types with a standard roof panel, disappearing into the panel when opened. Spoiler roofs, on the other hand, are opening over the panel. To provide optimum adaption to the vehicle models of car manufacturers, Webasto develops all its roof systems in close consultation with manufacturers and delivers them as complete modules for quick installation directly on the assembly line. The tinted safety glass creates a pleasant indoor climate. Drivers who do not want light entering the vehicle from above can close the roller blind manually or electrically. The tilting/sliding roofs are made using lightweight paper-based honeycomb technology. The sunroofs can be opened and closed using the operating controls integrated into the vehicle roof or, on request, from the outside using the remote control of the ignition key. The integrated anti-catching device ensures safety. 3. Trendy: Panorama Roofs Panorama roofs provide draft-free fresh air while driving and an open, light-filled interior ambience, even for passengers in the rear seats. Thanks to the seamless transition from the windshield to the rear, many panorama roofs create a dynamic and elegant design with an allglass appearance for sedans, station wagons and convertibles. The first panorama roof went into series production in 2000 for the Peugeot 8006 it was developed and manufactured by Webasto. With this pioneering effort, the automotive supplier set a strong focus on roof systems, resulting in subsequent years in the trend towards Webasto Group, September

3 panorama roofs. The first panorama roofs were constructed for premium cars only. Today panoramic roof systems are available for all kind of cars, from the S-Class of Mercedes-Benz to the fancy Fiat 500. Panorama roofs are available with one or two glass panes. So called fixed panorama roofs (FTM fixed transparent modules) cannot be opened. Their installation can be from the top (top-load) or the bottom (bottom-load), depending on what the customer wants. Today almost all cars are equipped with panorama roofs to open. They consist of one or two panes of glass, where the front section always can be opened. Technically, these roof systems are a challenge. After all, they are usually more than one square meter in size and provide not only a nice look and a pleasant interior atmosphere, but they must also ensure the stability and rigidity of the car body. This is especially true for so-called rail-to-rail roof designs, in which the roof system stretches from one side rail to the other, often connecting the windshield to the rear window. One-part panorama roofs come with a large glass pane and an U-shaped panel. This combination gives this roof system the high-quality solid-glass appearance. All panorama roofs must take over the function of the roof panel in terms of stability and rigidity. For this reason, Webasto roof engineers are involved in vehicle development at an early stage to design the roofs in a way that they fit perfectly into the overall static system of the vehicle. In order to ensure that no drafts and unpleasant sounds occur when opening a panorama roof, Webasto integrates wind deflectors. Depending on customer desires, the roof panes can have different shades, providing a pleasant indoor climate. Each roof system is available with a shade system. This consists of manually or electrically operated roller blinds, with or without a winding roll and lateral guides. The materials are made of all varieties, from a transparent stretch fabric to opaque, UV-reflective material. The roofs are opened and closed using operating elements built into the vehicle roof or, on request, from the outside via the remote control of the ignition key. The tailor-made electronic control system ensures that Webasto roofs open and close quietly and reliably. An anti-catching device is also usually built in. 4. Solar Sunroofs: Parking Ventilation to Save Fuel For over 20 years, Webasto has been developing and producing solar sunroofs that generate electrical power. The benefit of solar roofs: parking ventilation. Electricity is produced by the sliding sunroof, which is roughly 0.3 square meters large and is equipped with solar cells. This power is sufficient to operate the vehicle fan at a low level while parked. Thus, the continuous passage of fresh outside air is provided to the passenger compartment. The hot air escapes through the ventilation flaps at the rear of the vehicle. The result: The ventilated interior heats up noticeably less. In numbers, this means that the interior temperature can be up to 20 degrees less; at temperatures of up to 70 C in summer, this is almost 30 percent. A cooler interior on a hot summer day not only increases the comfort for the driver and the passengers. It also cuts the fuel consumption, and thus the CO 2 emissions. The heat places stress on not only the passengers, but also the air conditioner. The rapid cool down after the start requires much more fuel than keeping the car s interior constant at a given temperature while driving. The parking ventilation produced by a solar roof thus counteracts this increased consumption. Thanks to the much lower heating, the duration of full load operation of the air conditioner is halved. The consumption by the air conditioner and the corresponding CO 2 Webasto Group, September

4 emissions are reduced significantly. Also not to be underestimated is the safety aspect: Loss of concentration by drivers in a hot car has been scientifically proven. 5. Technologies for the Future Made by Webasto Lightweight construction and electrical mobility are currently the dominant themes in the automotive industry to satisfy the demands for fuel economy, and thus CO 2 reduction, by the government and society. As one of the world s top 100 suppliers and as a result of its many years of experience Webasto is developing technologies for these challenges. Current highlights are components made of the lightweight material polycarbonate, solar applications for hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as Webasto Glas ProTec a lightweight safety glass for roof systems. All these technologies can be integrated as applications in Webasto tilting/sliding sunroofs and panorama roofs Lightweight construction in roof systems: polycarbonate For years, plastics have been conquering automotive construction. This includes polycarbonate. The material is extremely light, sometimes permitting weight savings of up to 50 percent. In addition, polycarbonate is extremely impact-resistant, durable and excellently malleable in three dimensions. Therefore, it is ideal for use in the roof area. For this reason, Webasto invested in this technology at a very early stage, developing its own Plastics Center of Excellence in Schierling, near Regensburg (Germany). The first roof modules came off the production lines in 2007 this was the panorama roof for the smart fortwo. With an area of 1.2 square meters, it is still the world s largest polycarbonate roof system, weighing only 7.6 kg. The low weight not only reduces the fuel consumption of the vehicle, it also improves the handling dynamics because the center of gravity is shifted downward. With the start of the second production line in 2009, Webasto has expanded the use of polycarbonate in the roof area. The reason: The demand by OEMs for lightweight, high-quality glass-like transparent components has increased dramatically. The additional line produces mainly panels for roof systems in a high-quality glass look for the Audi A1, the VW Polo, etc. The polycarbonate components are produced in Schierling using two-component injection molding. A look into the future: The 3-D malleability of plastic offers designers a wide range of possibilities and engineers the ability to integrate functions. As a result, the serial production of roof shells, panorama roofs that can be opened completely, rear modules with integrated rear spoilers or molding parts with a glass look are possible in the future. In particular, the low weight and excellent stability of polycarbonate makes it so attractive Solar applications for charging the battery of hybrid and electric vehicles While the power generated using solar roofs has been used exclusively for the parking ventilation of vehicles until now, Webasto already has a roof system in which the produced energy is available to other consumers. Therefore, solar roofs are particularly suitable for use in electric cars, where they are able to contribute significantly to the battery charge. According to calculations by Webasto, two square meters of solar cells would provide enough energy for an Webasto Group, September

5 annual driving distance of 1,000 kilometers. The basis for the calculations is the average duration of sunshine in Europe. Combining a hybrid drive with a large solar roof is also very interesting. During parking times under the open sky, the roof can charge the drive battery automatically. Because the internal combustion engine of such a vehicle has to run less often due to the help of the sun, up to four grams less carbon dioxide would be created for each kilometer Light and safe: Webasto Glas ProTec Webasto Glas ProTec is a lightweight solution for roof systems. In this technology, which was developed by Webasto, a highly tear-resistant PET film is attached to the inside of curved panes of tempered safety glass. The advantage: If a pane of Webasto Glas ProTec breaks, the film holds the fragments together. As a result, the overall pane stays whole, and the passengers do not come into contact with the glass fragments. Webasto Glas ProTec is lighter than laminated safety glass panes because the film allows for thinner glass. This permits roof systems with less weight. 6. What the Future Holds The demands of politics and society for the vehicle of the future are clear: It should be safe, economical and environmentally friendly. This is also the challenge for Webasto, a system partner of the automotive manufacturers. In addition to alternative drives, solutions made of alternative materials must be developed for all areas of the vehicle, enabling the highest levels of safety, weight reduction and design freedom. With its advanced technologies in the fields of lightweight construction (polycarbonate, Webasto Glas ProTec ) as well as solar applications, Webasto is strongly positioned in this area. * * * Webasto Group, September