A little over a year from now, Tata Motors will roll out keyless small and mid-size cars from its stable.

The technology is now dropping down to smaller cars, especially in China and India, according to its inventor.

Marquardt, the Germany-based inventor of the high technology key and a 100 per cent supplier to a host of global luxury car-makers, said the size of the order has motivated it to set up a new R&D centre for automotive products in Pune.

“In the past year, we have received what was for us the largest contract in India. Starting in the third quarter of 2016, we are delivering Passive Entry Passive Start Systems for various models of passenger cars to Tata Motors,” Harald Marquardt, CEO of the Group, said.

The company will develop products across its R&D centres in India, China, Romania and Germany, and begin supplies from the plant in China.

Though the value of the contract was not disclosed, Marquardt indicated that it ran into “double digit million euro” and delivery will start with 10,000 pieces.

How it works

Explaining the concept, Marquardt said the keyless entry entailed a combination of electronic key, antenna, body computer, sensors and an electronic column sensor locking system.

Retro-fitting of existing cars with the system is not feasible. Keyless cars only require the key to be inside the car before pressing the ignition button to start the vehicle.

In case it gets lost, a new key can be generated using electronic data available with the car-maker while the lost key can be disabled much in the same way as a misplaced credit card is cancelled. This is considered the highest existing automobile safety mechanism.

Marquardt, which already has an automotive R&D centre in China as well as a plant, also plans to set up a manufacturing company in India over the next five years. “Most likely, it will be in Pune,” the CEO added.

The company, which makes a variety of electronic and electro-mechanical switches for automobiles, power tools and home appliances, already supplies switches majorly to Panasonic from its Mumbai plant.

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