Cristian Mihaly, Schaeffler: “We need to accelerate innovation in Romania and catch up with other countries”

“The most important challenge in the transition to electric mobility is technology. There are complex processes that need to be managed by engineers.

In Romania, we have over 2,000 very well-trained engineers. Their ideas help us develop products that we can later integrate into an electric vehicle.

Everyone is worried about where we charge an electric car in Romania and I think we need a change in mentality. Of course we need infrastructure, but I assure you that technology can be developed from Romania. While I am speaking, my colleagues are working in laboratories and testing and implementing new algorithms and new functionalities for electric cars,” Cristian Mihaly, Head of R&D Romania and South-Eastern Europe, Schaeffler said at Automotive R&D Conference organized by Automotive Today and The Diplomat-Bucharest.

Key statements:

• We have engineers in Romania who develop a wide range of products and services, such as functions developed for the chassis, for the display, airbags, etc. We must not forget that Romania is capable of delivering new technologies in accordance with customer requirements.
• We have laboratories in Romania through which we guarantee that the products delivered to car manufacturers are certified. Our colleagues who work in R&D are doing extraordinary things when it comes to electrification, charging points, cybersecurity, etc.
• In Romania, we need to accelerate innovation and catch up with other countries. I hope we have a strategy and a future plan with concrete actions from the point of view of innovation.
• The transition to electric cars requires a change in mentality. I want to go to a showroom in 2035 and be able to buy a car that does not pollute, regardless of the technology used. I think the big challenge is changing attitudes and setting long-term goals through which we stop polluting. Companies are investing hundreds of millions of euros to make this transition, but people also need to contribute to this effort.