VCST: a company on a mission

From Tuesday 24 March to Friday 27 March, VCST (part of BMT drive solutions) was supposed to be part of the Belgian/Austrian automotive mission to Detroit, holy ground for all that is associated with automotive construction. However, due to measures taken to stop the spread of coronavirus, the mission has been postponed to later this year. The mission is organised by the Agoria Transport & Mobility Technology Club and takes place for the second consecutive year. Last year’s edition saw 10 Belgian companies pitch their innovations to the R&D departments of three major Detroit car manufacturers. This year, we will be introducing our new multi-speed Automatic Manual Transmission (AMT).

Tech Days

The ‘Tech Days’ are what make the Transport & Mobility Technology Club’s missions so unique. These Tech Days are pop-up exhibitions organised in the car manufacturers’ development centres. This way, managers and engineers of these companies can be informed about the participants’ innovations directly. The Tech Days consist of two parts. First there is a VIP-tour during which senior management of the car manufacturer in question are shown around the exhibition. During this tour, every participant delivers a 3-minute pitch to convince the management after which there is time for some questions. After the VIP-tour, there is an open floor during which all employees can walk around freely and ask questions.

This year’s novelties

There are two novelties to this year’s mission. First, this is a joint initiative of Belgium and Austria. In total, 20 companies will take part, making the Tech Days even more interesting for the car manufacturers. Second, in comparison to last year, there will be 4 Tech Days, and consequently 4 manufacturers, rather than 3. The participating manufacturers this year are: Bordrin Motor, FCA HQ & Technical Center, Toyota NA Technical Center and Honda R&D Americas.

This year’s mission will focus on four domains: User Experience, Smart & Connected Mobility, Smart Production and Vehicle Electrification. The latter of these four is a domain that VCST is focussing on especially as electrification will play a major part in cars of the future and is already playing a big part today. Aside from that, our new AMT will also be getting the attention it deserves.

The program

On Wednesday 25 March, we will have the opportunity to talk to senior management and employees of Honda R&D Americas in Ann Arbor and Bordrin Motor in Oak Park, currently developing 3 platforms for electric vehicles. The next day, we will move to the FCA Technology Center in Auburn Hills, the global headquarters and technology centre for Chrysler. Eventually, on Friday 27 March, we will head to the Toyota Motor NA Research and Development, once again in Ann Arbor.

It’s needless to say that we are very much looking forward to the opportunity of pitching our ideas to leading car manufacturers in the US. Indeed, we’ll make sure to leave a lasting impression across the pond and do our utmost to make VCST a household name for these companies as well. After all, the sky is the limit.

Due to the global coronavirus outbreak the mission has been postponed to November-December 2020.