Yanfeng, a leading global automotive supplier, and TactoTek, a pioneer and leader in smart surface technologies, will collaborate on the development of highly integrated Human Machine Interface (HMI) solutions for future Smart Cabin applications. The goal of this partnership is to combine advanced lighting, user interfaces, as well as various decorative trim with a deeply integrated product approach that enables exceptional design flexibility.

Yanfeng has made the strategic decision to integrate TactoTek's Injection Molded Structural Electronics (IMSE) portfolio as a technological layer in its worldwide Smart Cabin business. The intention is to enhance the overall user experience by offering advanced lighting features and introducing new functional elements like HMI, haptic feedback, and display integration.

This approach enables Yanfeng to align with emerging automotive industry trends, including autonomous driving, and addresses non-driving related tasks (NDRTs), thereby shaping the future of Smart Cabins and redefining the driving experience.

This collaboration strives to create a unique in-vehicle user experience by accelerating seamless lighting integration into all surfaces of future vehicle interiors. The IMSE technology offers a fresh unique design and styling principles for slim, compact configurations and unconventional shapes.

“The partnership with TactoTek is a great addition to support our global technology portfolio for future Smart Cabin applications and is designed for long-term engagement. Together we can offer innovative and integrated lighting solutions tailored to our customers’ needs in the automotive industry,” said Patrick Nebout, Chief Technology Officer at Yanfeng Technology. “By combining our expertise, we can accelerate design and development activities, providing advantages for our customers along the entire value chain.”

“Yanfeng's leading role in the industry is crucial to the rapid transformation of the automotive sector. With our IMSE technology platform, we aim for this partnership to seamlessly merge the visual appeal, tactile experience, and functionality of vehicle interiors. Together, we are creating experiences for the end user that go beyond pure functionality – they are emotionally engaging, and define the essence of future mobility," said Dr. Thomas Vetter, Senior Vice President of Global Automotive at TactoTek.
 

About TactoTek
TactoTek Oy (Oulu, Finland), is the world leader in developing and licensing injection-molded smart structure technologies. Automotive, aviation, connected home, industrial control and medical brands use TactoTek innovations to create next-generation user experiences that are compelling, differentiated, and more sustainable. Designers use TactoTek IP to integrate circuits and components directly into plastic parts, transforming conventional structures into smart interactive surfaces. TactoTek licenses its intellectual property, including over 220 patents and critical know-how developed over a decade of intensive R&D and quality testing, to global manufacturers who use reliable, standardized manufacturing processes to produce curved-shape and conformal electronics.
Learn more at www.tactotek.com

Yanfeng, a leading global automotive supplier, will display its latest seating, interiors, electronics, and safety systems innovations at the 2024 CES in Las Vegas in January. This is the first time Yanfeng has exhibited at the show.

Highlights of the company’s exhibit in the West Hall include:

• EVI: The powertrains of electric vehicles have undergone a complete transformation – but the interior has not changed substantially. Interiors in gas and electric vehicles have remained mostly the same, until now. This interior concept offers quicker assembly time and a more centralized electrical architecture, enabled by combining Yanfeng’s capabilities in seating, interiors, electronics and safety systems.
• Hover Seat with Seat Sensing Posture ID technology: We have taken our Hover Seat to new levels of comfort by adding our Seat Sensing Posture ID technology. The seat based on zero gravity research, adaptively forms to the curvature of the occupant’s body and tailors the travel experience all while providing the consistent, even support found in the Hover Seat. The seat now features precise memory settings that allow users to save and recall their preferred seat configurations, massage functions and more, thereby catering to multiple occupants.
• ClickRim: A modular steering wheel concept with connectable segments that allows the automated wrapping of the steering wheel, integration of hands on detection and heating functionality and a broad choice of cover materials. It contains proprietary self-aligning shells and an electrical connection system. This product creates a steering wheel with a notable reduction in labor to finish the assembly. It also has sustainability features as well.
• CYMATICX sound flow cabin brings immersive acoustic experiences for vehicle interior spaces. Based on the new self-developed OURANOS Sound Domain Controller platform, integrating a variety of innovative acoustic technologies such as HOLOSOUND immersive audio, somatosensory augmented sound, SONIX acoustic follower algorithms, and special flexible thin film transducers.

Yanfeng will also provide an overview of its sustainable products and processes.

“We look forward to showcasing our latest innovations during the 2024 CES,” said Patrick Nebout, chief technology officer for Yanfeng Technology. “Demonstrating our cross-business unit capabilities will highlight the further enhancement of our product offerings.”

Yanfeng’s short-term targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for its global interiors business have now been confirmed by the Science Based Targets initiative. With this, the company commits to make a scientifically based contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030 in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

“For the reduction of emissions, we have deliberately adopted scientific-based targets, which are verified by the internationally recognized Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi),” explained Büchter, Vice President Global Sustainability at Yanfeng. “The automotive industry remains a major driver of CO2 emissions. As part of an industry which has a considerable impact on global warming, we need to act now in order to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement established in 2015. By setting science-based targets as a binding framework, we have made a concrete, public, and verifiable promise to the environment, society, and our customers.”

By 2030, Yanfeng commits to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions from its own production, its fleet of vehicles (scope 1) and from purchased energy (scope 2) by 50% in comparison with the baseline year 2019. With this, both segments will make a contribution to the limitation of global warming to 1.5°C and are therefore in line with the targets of the Paris Agreement.

Yanfeng has multiple examples of success. To reduce its emissions, the company utilizes power from renewable sources, including photovoltaic systems, for all of its plants in Europe and South Africa. 
The company has also committed to a 27.5% reduction of scope 3 emissions by 2030 from upstream and downstream supply chains, including purchased raw materials and services, business travel, employee commuting, production and the disposal of products, as well as logistics. These targets are applicable for all company locations in Europe, South Africa, the United States, Canada, Mexico and Asia.

“Because we have determined the carbon footprint of our company, we know where we need to take action to reduce our emissions. Together with our commitment to scientifically validated targets we are creating the framework for our environmental sustainability strategy. However, we can only achieve these targets in collaboration with all of our partners in our value chain,” emphasized Gunnar Büchter.

The Science Based Targets initiative was founded in 2015 by the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It provides companies with a clearly defined framework for reducing emissions according to the latest climate science and the targets of the Paris Climate Protection Agreement, in order to make a contribution to limiting global warming. 

As supplier diversity is an important part of our sustainable procurement strategy in North America, we established a dedicated function to coordinate all related activities. Jacinto Blanco, Senior Manager of Supplier Diversity, is representing this key function within the region. We spoke to Jacinto to find out what is behind this approach, what is different to other supplier programs, and what key achievements in 2022 make him proud.

Jacinto, can you provide an overview of Yanfeng’s supplier diversity program? Why is it important?

Our supplier diversity program is part of our business model in North America, which includes a policy that diverse-owned businesses have equal opportunity to compete for contracts or subcontracts with Yanfeng.

We believe our program provides a competitive advantage for Yanfeng that contributes to the overall growth and expansion of our business. Our program is more than just purchasing goods and services from a minority business enterprise. We also assist in developing and strengthening diverse-owned businesses, through such initiatives as knowledge sharing. Some examples of this include providing cybersecurity training and mentoring support to diverse-owned companies.

In addition to Yanfeng’s established processes and the company’s participation in councils, industry events, networking, and development programs, the dedication of our leadership to mentor, partner, and advocate for supplier diversity has led to significant business opportunities for minority-/women-owned enterprises and supplier diversity professionals’ growth and program maturation.

Please highlight some key accomplishments of the program. What are you most proud of?

In 2022, we had several key accomplishments, including our spending with minority-owned business. Our spending accounted for 13% of total procurement dollars. We also received multiple accolades for our performance, including Corporation of the Year from the MMSDC 2022, and Supplier Diversity Excellence Award from the GLWBC. What I’m most proud of, however, is Yanfeng’s commitment – with leadership support – to including and growing our supplier pool with diverse-owned companies, which ultimately has an economic impact on disadvantaged communities.

What differentiates Yanfeng’s program from other suppliers?

There are multiple differentiators. Procurement has included supplier diversity in our KPIs, and all commodity managers and buyers have it in their goals that they must participate in at least one supplier diversity outreach/networking event per year. Supplier diversity also is included in our overall supplier scorecard.

We also established a tier-two program, which is a reporting process for our tier 1 suppliers, that encourages 5% of their spending to be sourced to diverse suppliers. We also are looking at ways to expand our supplier diversity program to outside of the US and Mexico. We are currently seeking to expand globally and are in the process of implementing the program in Germany.

Yanfeng, a leading global automotive supplier, has recently expanded its research and development activities in Europe. The new equipment is part of its Technical Center in Trenčín, Slovakia, and focuses on the company’s Safety Systems business. It complements the existing interiors product portfolio and testing capabilities at the site. With this investment in new equipment and technologies, Yanfeng extends its passive safety component development and testing capabilities outside of China.

The new test stations are for the testing of steering wheels and airbag modules.
The company has invested around 2.5 million Euros in the state-of-the-art equipment. These include a mechanical shock test station as well as a drop tester, inflator deployment test machine, an additional climate chamber, a salt spray chamber and also a dust test station, which uses fine dust from the Arizona desert. A new temperature shock tester, an airbag test center and a robot test system have also been installed.

“Airbag modules and steering wheels are crucial for driver and passenger safety. This applies both to airbags, which only work once, as well as steering wheels, which must function continuously every day,” explained Ivan Kebísek, Engineering Director and Site Leader of the Yanfeng Technical Center in Trenčín. “This means that our products must fulfill the highest quality standards and work perfectly.”

“Yanfeng is the only automotive supplier that offers in-house passive safety solutions and interior integration from a single source,” said Francois Stouvenot, CEO EMEA and NA at Yanfeng Automotive Interiors. “With our extensive expertise in interiors, seating, and passive safety, we are able to develop holistic interior solutions with seamlessly integrated safety systems.”

The company’s safety technology ranges from a smart steering wheel, that warns drivers through visual signals or vibrations if they unexpectedly stray from their lane, to seating systems with automatic seat belt tightening, restraint systems and airbags.

A global Engineering network to better serve the customers
Over the past few years, Yanfeng has been increasing its development and testing capabilities for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in Trenčín. Since 2017 the company has invested continuously in additional testing equipment. The Trenčín Technical Center is one of two major European research and development sites in Yanfeng’s global engineering network. It supports the Tech Center at the company’s European Headquarters in Neuss, Germany, with environmental, functional, durability and material tests for automotive interior components and products, including instrument panels, cockpits, door panels and floor consoles. The testing has recently been extended to include the passive safety portfolio.

“The Technical Center in Trenčín is one of 12 locations in our global engineering network, and it has a vital role in our research and development activities,” said Francois Stouvenot. “The investment in this new safety test equipment enables us to enhance our capabilities and further support our customers locally.”

Yanfeng, a leading global automotive supplier, announces its breakthrough in safety solutions for future mobility scenarios in China. The new technology is a package of safety solutions integrated into the passenger seat, consisting of several innovative components which together provide safety measures intended to reduce injuries from collisions when occupants are seated in a large-angle reclined forward seating position.

Scenarios for Future Mobility Put New Demands on Cabin Safety

Seat applications for the Smart Cabin are very different from those in a traditional cabin and can include large-angle reclined forward seating positions such as zero gravity or fully reclined positions, as well as other irregular seat movements such as rotation, long distance sliding and others.

As current restraint systems are developed based on an upright seating position, injury statistics from traffic accidents show that traditional safety restraint systems do not provide effective protection for drivers and occupants who are not in an upright or similar seating position. Since 2020, Yanfeng has been working to identify safety solutions to meet future mobility needs to find an answer to this increasingly important industry challenge.

After three years of development, Yanfeng has made significant progress in collision protection in a large-angle reclined forward seating position, and has obtained more than 60 patents.

Safer Travel Experience

This new safety solution brings together the seat Pre-Crash Seat Rapid Return mechanism, Follow Up Seat, Hoodie Airbag, Buttock Airbag, and Seat Integrated Seat Belt - All Belt to Seat, to provide all-round protection for occupants in all forward seating positions from standard to large angle recline.

• Pre-crash Seat Rapid Return

When the vehicle advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) or self-driving system (SDS) determine that the vehicle will collide with another vehicle or object, this function will adjust the seat rapidly from a large angle position to a position that better protects the passenger.

• Follow Up Seat (FUS)

When ADAS or SDS fails to accurately predict an unavoidable collision or when the vehicle does not have the pre-crash function, the follow up seat is triggered to allow the seat to return to the appropriate backrest angle from a wide-angle seating or reclining position after a collision, improving restraint protection for the occupants by optimizing the seating position.

• All Belt to Seat (ABTS)

The ABTS is a seat belt integrated into the seat. With car-sensitive rewinders fixed to the seatback, it implements seat belt locking under different seat-back angles to provide better protection for the occupants.

• Buttock Airbag (BAB)

The buttock airbag is activated in the front of the seat to effectively reduce the occupant's inertial rush forward in the early stage of any collision, to offset the lumbar spine force, reduce the effects of the collision energy on the passenger’s upper body and reduce the occupant lumbar spine pressure reducing injury.

• Hoodie Airbag (HAB)

With a unique design and a brand-new shape, this all-in airbag is fully integrated into the seat and deploys to protect the occupant's head, neck, and chest in different collision scenarios.

"Safety solutions for Smart Cabins are challenges that must be solved for the development of future mobility," said Ni Jiawen, Chief Technology Officer and General Manager of the Yanfeng Tech Center. “As an industry leader, Yanfeng continuously creates new cabin use scenarios, while simultaneously working to develop safety solutions. We believe that an intelligent, comfortable, and personalized cabin environment must be built on the basis of safety. The company has been exploring this field for many years, attempting to reduce the serious injuries caused by road accidents with new product technologies. This recent achievement is also due to our cross-business unit advantage, which allows us to integrate seating and safety technologies that provide users with safety solutions that better meet the needs of future mobility."

Validated through meticulous testing, the technologies are applicable for both current (L0-L3) and future autonomous driving (L3-L5) scenarios and are ready for commercialization. As the seat angle and position, as well as the posture of occupants in the cabin become more diverse, Yanfeng will continue to explore and develop additional safety solutions that improve passenger safety.

Together with the energy solutions provider SolarAfrica, the global automotive supplier Yanfeng has funded the new photovoltaic (PV) system for the African Angels school. A total of 24 solar panels were installed on the school grounds to convert sunlight into sustainable, cost-saving electricity. The new ground-mounted system is already operational and will generate 20,843 kWh of electricity annually. It took one week to complete the installation. Thanks to the new solar energy system, the primary school is shielded from daily power outages that have been put in place by the national energy provider. This is a real advantage for the school, which takes care of 153 children from the Chintsa East and Glen Eden townships, and surrounding farms. All children come from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The new system also helps the school save around 19 tons of CO2 annually while reducing its monthly costs.

Energy is a scarce commodity, and in South Africa, the power is cut off for several hours every day. These power cuts, known as loadshedding, have been in place for several years already but have never been as severe as they are now. The state-owned power utility Eskom, which operates the nationwide grid and provides almost all of South Africa's energy, is taking this measure to avoid a complete blackout.

Thanks to the great contribution of Yanfeng and SolarAfrica, our school has now reduced its dependence on the national grid and the savings can be invested in the further education of our kids,” said Lou Billett, Chairperson and Founder of African Angels Trust.

The school is located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, about 40 km outside East London. The school is an English medium school and has no more than 20 children in each class, allowing each child to receive individual attention and support.

“We believe that a high-quality education enables our children to seize opportunities later in life to become productive, employed and responsible citizens of South Africa,” explained Lou Billett.

Building a nation through education also requires a stable power supply

This is not Yanfeng’s first project with African Angels. Some employees previously volunteered with the school and the company also donated furniture and a kitchen.

“We are very aware of our social responsibility as a company and know that there are disadvantaged people in our communities. Because of this, we have decided to continue supporting this local school project together with SolarAfrica as our partner,” said Simon Pella, Senior Manager Procurement at Yanfeng. “My special thanks to them and their CEO David McDonald, as they funded 50% of the project.”

SolarAfrica also designed the solar panel system and can monitor it remotely – giving them access to operational information at all times to support future maintenance efforts.

Both companies are pleased to support a school in South Africa and contribute to the country's green economy and educational system. These efforts complement the school's motto: “We are building a nation through education – thanks to a stable power supply with our new solar panel generation.”

The purpose of the letter is to announce that the equity of Yanfeng Automotive Safety Systems Co., Ltd., formerly registered under Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Co., Ltd., has been fully transferred to Yanfeng International Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. as of May 16, 2023. The equity of Yanfeng International Seating Systems Co., Ltd., formerly registered under Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Co., Ltd., has been fully transferred to Yanfeng International Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. as of May 29, 2023.

Yanfeng has reached another milestone in its sustainability journey by bringing the power of solar energy to its plants in South Africa. The global automotive supplier already uses renewable energy at all its locations in Europe – some of which are already operating with 100% green energy – and now will supplement its operations in South Africa with sustainable and emission-free solar energy generation. This has put Yanfeng at the forefront of alternative energy in its industry, as it’s the only supplier in the AIDC's Automotive Supplier Park in Pretoria, and the East London Industrial Development Zone Supplier Park that makes use of renewable energy. With this, the company is taking a further step towards resource-saving production and contributing to the reduction of CO₂ emissions.

The new photovoltaic (PV) systems are operating at both sites and will produce an impressive combined 2,843,019 kWh of electricity in the first year. Each plant took approximately three months to complete with a total of 3,510 solar panels installed on the roofs of the production halls to convert sunlight into sustainable and cost-saving electricity.

Many sectors are facing major challenges with the transition to a low-carbon economy. The automotive sector in particular faces many operational and economic challenges when transforming production plants into net-zero emission operations. Thanks to its commitment to sustainability, 100% of the solar energy generated by the PV systems is used to power Yanfeng’s production plants in South Africa, helping them save around 2,559 tons of CO₂ annually while reducing their monthly costs and increasing efficiencies.

“Thanks to the change to renewable energy we can make our production processes more environmentally friendly and save resources,” explained Simon Pella, Senior Manager Procurement at Yanfeng. “Energy and emission savings at our locations are an important measure to achieve our sustainability targets and our goal to reach net-zero emission production at our plants by 2030.”

The solar energy systems were funded by SolarAfrica, which will also operate, maintain and monitor the systems going forward. “From the outset of these projects, Yanfeng’s focus was on reducing their CO₂ emissions and SolarAfrica is proud to partner with them to make their journey towards sustainability a success,” said David McDonald, CEO of SolarAfrica. “It’s inspiring to see a global company like Yanfeng invest in world-class facilities in South Africa, contributing to our country’s green economy and supporting job creation in the automotive industry.”

All Yanfeng European plants were converted to renewable energy by the beginning of 2022. With this new PV system, Yanfeng has implemented a milestone in the conversion to net-zero emission production at its two plants in South Africa.

Leading global automotive supplier, Yanfeng achieved an A- listing from Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) recently. The company has been awarded a second consecutive A- rating by CDP for the group's global leadership in transparency and action on climate change in 2022. In total, nearly 15,000 companies were rated based on data which they submitted to the organization. Yanfeng also received an Environmental Leadership Award by CDP China.

CDP is a non-profit organization which operates a global disclosure system to enable investors, companies, cities, states, and regions to manage their environmental impacts. Every year, several thousand companies worldwide are analyzed about their strategic approach to the challenges of climate change and their climate management activities are rated on the basis of a comprehensive list of criteria. CDP’s annual environmental disclosure and rating process is widely recognized as the gold standard for corporate environmental transparency.  

“At Yanfeng, we strive to be proactive in our approach to mitigating climate risk.  
This rating confirms that we are on the right track,” said Gunnar Büchter, Vice President of Global Sustainability at Yanfeng. “We place great emphasis on pursuing multiple ways to reduce our CO2 footprint and increasing our sustainability. Our employees and business partners are highly motivated by environmental actions. I’m proud of what the team has accomplished and that we continue to show progress year after year.” 

Yanfeng improved its scores in value chain engagement and climate-related requirements for suppliers, as well as targets for increasing low-carbon energy consumption or production. 

Yanfeng – a leader in its peer group 

Yanfeng began reporting five years ago and has significantly improved its rating since then. The company operates in the plastic product manufacturing sector and is a leader among its peers in this industry. Yanfeng received an A- rating, which is in the Leadership band. This is considerably higher than the Asian regional average of C, and the plastic product manufacturing sector average of C. 

“As our company-wide target for carbon neutrality, we aim to achieve 100% of our total energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2030,” said Büchter.  

All European plants converted to renewable energy by the beginning of 2022, and other regions also increased their utilization of renewable energy sources. Significant progress has been made in China. By end of 2021 a total of 30% of energy came from renewable sources.