German Tier 1 supplier Continental has won an order to supply the commercial vehicle sector with telematics units that include high-performance computers.

Continental says it will use its considerable telematics know-how – already proven in the passenger car sector – to complete this order from a leading European commercial vehicle manufacturer. Last year, the company became the first supplier to put a high-performance computer with software into serial production. The computer connects the electronics architecture, controls data streams, and enables over-the-air updates for Volkswagen’s all-electronic ID series.

Gilles Mabire, head of the Commercial Vehicles and Services business unit at Continental said: “Continental recognised the potential of high-performance computers at an early stage and used its vehicle electronics know-how, which has grown over many years, to create a foundation for innovative applications – now also for the commercial vehicle sector.”

The Tier 1 says that using high-performance computers it is addressing the ever-increasing variety of functions and complexity in the connectivity of commercial vehicles. In the solution for trucks, it combines the telematics unit with a high-performance computer, enabling the mapping of a large number of additional functions and different applications. Particularly in the efficiency-driven transportation industry, this entails competition-relevant applications ranging from the digitalisation of the logistics chain and remote diagnostics to secure over-the-air software updates. Continental says its solution can manage the large data streams generated in the vehicle much better than conventional computers.