On 1 December, the German car manufacturer Audi presented for the first time the eagerly awaited new version of high-class limousine, the new Audi A6. This is an exceptional event for Hidria that contributed the key part of the steering system for this vehicle which considerably improves the driving performance of the new limousine and drastically reduces fuel consumption. This is one of Hidria’s best achievements so far in the premium automobile class.

In this project, Hidria closely co-operated with Volkswagen and Audi (as VW’s daughter company) ever since 2007 as development supplier of the finely processed complete main housing of the steering system. This very solution contributed significantly to the automobile’s exceptional performance and reduced fuel consumption, and consequently the safety of the new member of the Audi family.

Hidria will manufacture this new aluminium steering system housing with the state-of-the-art technologies for high-pressure casting and high-precision processing, in which its development experts  have already developed complex technological processes.  High demands for product quality are met thanks to Hidria’s special-purpose equipment, verification of many complex features prescribed for safety elements in the automotive industry. Hidria’s successful development and perspective is also confirmed with the manufacturing  of this system at the location in Koper.    
Essentially, this is an agreement between Hidria and Audi, worth more than EUR 40 million, by which Hidria is strengthening its outstanding co-operation with Audi and thus the Volkswagen Group.
 
The agreement also crowns Hidria’s previous efforts to penetrate the steering systems segment and proves its ability to assume the leading role in this segment at the European level. With its solutions, Hidria presently co-manages at least every tenth newly produced vehicle in Europe.  
Furthermore, this achievement also proves the dimension of the recently established partnership of Slovene suppliers of automobile parts and systems SiEVA in the scope of which high-technology solutions will be further developed.