DETROIT (Jan. 6, 2004) — EnTire Solutions L.L.C., a joint venture between Michelin North America Inc. and TRW Automotive, signed contracts with Honda and Fiat to supply direct tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS).
Officially launched in October, the joint venture is supplying systems for the 2004 Acura MDX and a range of European vehicles by Fiat. The venture also counts several Hyundai and Kia platforms as TPMS customers, and it supplies sensors for a range of General Motors Corp. trucks and sport-utility vehicles.
“We expect fitments to new vehicles to continue to grow,” said Rich Wolfe, CEO of EnTire. “This growth should be accelerated by the availability of new technology that will increase TPM capability while maintaining or reducing costs.”
Vehicle manufacturers have a choice of either an advanced TPMS that provides early warning to a driver of a slow leak before the tire gets significantly underinflated, or a simpler system that only signals the driver when a tire is significantly underinflated, according to EnTire.