Continuing to build on its benchmarking capabilities, FEV has opened a new Benchmark Center (BMC) at its headquarters in Aachen, providing a range of services, from in-depth assessments of entire vehicles to focused analysis at the component or technology level.
“The demand for benchmarking analyses has grown, not just since the increase of new battery-electric models and corresponding manufacturers worldwide. With the latest extension, we are responding to this situation and can provide our customers with a development advantage through our analysis results,” said Christian Speuser, director, benchmarking, FEV.
Spanning 1,250m², the new benchmarking area is located near to the engineering department. It includes a 400m² exhibition area where visitors can explore vehicles and hardware up close, comparing individual components and systems. An additional 650m² is dedicated to documentation and workshop rooms, a photo studio, offices and meeting spaces. The Innovation Lab covers 200m² and provides a collaborative environment for workshops and ideation projects. Designed to foster creativity and productivity, these spaces are located alongside the benchmarking hardware, ensuring a hands-on, inspiring atmosphere for working teams.
“The physical proximity allows us to put together interdisciplinary teams of experts flexibly in terms of time and subject matter, for example for holding workshops. This allows us to draw on over 45 years of engineering experience in the automotive sector alone and tailor this to our customers’ projects in the best possible way,” said Alexander Koch, head of the BMC in Aachen.
The BMC employs high-end technology, including advanced material analysis tools, x-ray equipment and 3D scanners for documentation and analysis.
All data gathered during past and future evaluations will be stored in FEV’s new cloud-based benchmarking database, Carat. In the future, customers will be able to analyze and compare data at all levels of the vehicle via the customizable database.
“This will make it even easier for customers to use the results optimally for their individual purposes,” commented Speuser.
The new BMC in Germany joins FEV’s global network of benchmark centers in the USA, India and China.
FEV recently increased its benchmarking capacity in the USA and now offers advanced benchmarking services in the Detroit area from a 1,800m² facility. Their work focuses on teardown analysis and evaluating component design, manufacturing, supply chains and costs. The company also conducts controlled level-two tests at both the vehicle and system levels, including assessments of battery electric powertrains, their components and hydrogen internal combustion engines.
Currently, FEV’s benchmarking experts are scrutinizing Tesla’s Cybertruck and the Audi SQ6 e-tron.