SEG Automotive introduces stop/start motor for compact cars

Auto component maker SEG Automotive Wednesday unveiled a stop/start motor for both petrol and diesel compact cars, offering fuel savings of up to 8 per cent for owners of such vehicles, a top company official said.

The Bengaluru-based firm, a leading supplier of various auto components like starter motors, had first introduced the start/stop technology in 2008 for bigger cars.

"Start/stop is an important technology to make cars more environmentally friendly, offering immediate fuel efficiency increases of up to 8 per cent," SEG Automotive India Managing Director Anil Kumar M R told reporters here.

The new SC60 start/stop starter motor is developed specifically with the Indian market in mind for smaller combustion engines, he added.

"The SC60 is an efficient answer to reduce pollution by decreasing fuel consumption and help OEMs reach the new, more stringent CAFC goals defined by the Indian government," Kumar M R said.

The company now aims to cater to developing markets like India and China, where smaller cars are prevalent even now, SEG Automotive COO Peter Sokol said.

SEG Automotive has ongoing projects that aim to also roll out the new product to OEMs in India and other markets like Brazil, China and Europe.

In a start/stop set up, the engine control unit (ECU) automatically switches off the engine if the vehicle comes to a stop and the driver puts the gear into neutral, for example at a traffic light.

As soon as the driver presses the clutch again or in case of automatic transmission releases the brake, the engine is re-started automatically.