Ficosa, a top-tier global provider devoted to the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of high-technology vision, safety, connectivity and efficiency systems for the automotive and mobility sectors, and Panasonic have signed the first contract of a co-developed product. Both companies will produce an interior rearview mirror for a major European manufacturer (OEM), which will incorporate an electronic toll function that allows the automatic payment of motorway tolls without having to stop the vehicle. The project, which will last for seven years, is valued at 50 million euros and will be produced in the plant of Ficosa in Viladecavalls (Barcelona).
Javier Pujol, Ficosa CEO, emphasizes: “We are very pleased because during the first year of our agreement with Panasonic, besides presenting co-developed products, we have also managed to win our first joint contract”. And adds: “This project is a clear example of the great potential offered by this alliance, giving us the necessary critical mass to position ourselves at the forefront of the transformation that the automotive industry is currently experiencing”.
A product that integrates the know-how of Ficosa and Panasonic
Intended for the Japanese market, this rearview mirror allows to manage the payment of highway tolls due to the integration of an electronic toll system with credit card. In that sense, the mirror has a slot to insert the credit card and incorporates a small screen at the top that reports the amount to be paid. Mercedes Pujol, Director of the Business Unit of Rearview Mirror Systems, explains “this additional functionality goes beyond the simple payment, as the mirror communicates with the toll station and is able to transmit this information to the navigation system of the vehicle, complementing the communication vehicle-infrastructure (V2I)”.
For this project, Panasonic has developed the credit card reading module while Ficosa has been in charge of the electronic management of the entire system, of all the structural and aesthetic components and of the development of a lighting component incorporated in the rearview mirror.
