A car platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components, over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of cars , often from different, but somewhat related, marques . It is practiced in the automotive industry to reduce the costs associated with the development of products by basing those products on a smaller number of platforms. This further allows companies to create distinct models from a design perspective on similar underpinnings. A car platform is not to be confused with a platform chassis , although such a chassis can be part of an automobile's design platform, as noted below.
30-575: The Trumpchi GA5 , or originally the Guangzhou Auto Trumpchi is a mid-size sedan produced by Guangzhou Automobile under the Trumpchi brand. It debuted at the 2010 Guangzhou Auto Show. In 2009, Alfa Romeo had sold its 166/Kappa platform and tooling to Guangzhou Automobile (GAC), which formed the basis of the Trumpchi GA5 and Trumpchi GS5 crossover, using a FIAT/Alfa Romeo 2.0 engine and
60-461: A SUV . The Volkswagen A platform -mates such as the sports-oriented Audi TT and the economy-focused Volkswagen Golf also share much of their mechanical components but are visually entirely different. Both the Volkswagen Group and Toyota have had much success building many well-differentiated vehicles from many marques , from the same platforms. One of the least conspicuous recent examples
90-472: A greater variety of vehicles from one basic set of engineered components. Pictured below is the Nissan MS platform , where designs including 5-door hatchback, sedan, compact SUV and minivan were built on a common floor panel and many shared functional assemblies such as engine, transmission and chassis components. Many vendors refer to this as product or vehicle architecture . The concept of product architecture
120-681: A lower cost to consumers. Additionally, economies of scale are increased, as is return on investment. Originally, a "platform" was a literally shared chassis from a previously-engineered vehicle, as in the case for the Citroën 2CV platform chassis used by the Citroën Ami and Citroën Dyane , as well as the Volkswagen Beetle frame under the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia . These two manufacturers made different category of vehicles under using
150-509: A manual, automatic or tiptronic transmission. Pricing ranges from 122,800 yuan to 189,800 yuan. The Trumpchi was launched as a brand and the brand expanded later with the Guangzhou Auto Trumpchi being renamed to Trumpchi GA5 by the end of 2012 along with the facelift. As of 2014, the Trumpchi GA5 is powered by a 1.6-liter turbo engine mated to a 5-speed manual transmission or a 5-speed automatic transmission. The maximum engine power of
180-451: A risk of losing the tangible uniqueness of the product. The companies have to make a trade-off between reducing their development costs and the degree of differentiation of the products. Platform sharing is a practice commonly employed by various brands within a corporate group. The fundamental components of a shared platform typically include the chassis and the drive unit. The extent to which different automobile or motorcycle models utilize
210-491: A strategy affects the development process and also has an important impact on an automaker's organizational structure. A platform strategy also offers advantages for the globalization process of automobile firms. Because automakers spend the majority of time and money on the development of platforms, platform sharing affords manufacturers the ability to cut costs on research and development by spreading it over several product lines. Manufacturers are then able to offer products at
240-514: A variety of body styles, including sedans , coupes , station wagons , hatchbacks , and convertibles . Compact executive cars can also fall under the mid-size category. The automobile that defined this size in the United States was the Rambler Six that was introduced in 1956, although it was called a "compact" car at that time. Much smaller than any standard contemporary full-size cars, it
270-518: Is 130km/h. The GA5 PHEV battery has a capacity of 13 kWh and has a nominal rating of 12 kWh, delivering a NEDC range of 70 km (44 miles). The 138 kg / 304 lb battery pack of the GAC Trumpchi GA5 has a total voltage of 350 V, and is guaranteed for 8 years or 150,000 km / 93,750 miles. Combined fuel consumption of the 2015 GAC Trumpchi GA5 based on the NEDC driving cycle is 1.6 L/km (2.56 L/100 mile). Based on
300-408: Is a product development method where different products and the brand attached share the same components. The purpose with platform sharing is to reduce the cost and have a more efficient product development process. The companies gain on reduced procurement costs by taking advantage of the commonality of the components. However, this also limits their ability to differentiate the products and imposes
330-600: Is known as the N-J-L platform, arguably the most prolific of GM's efforts on one platform. Once more, GM's four lower-level divisions all offered various models on this platform throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. The 1988 Fiat Tipo was one of the first European cars utilizing a modular platform , also used for the Fiat Tempra . Japanese carmakers have followed the platform sharing practice with Honda 's Acura line, Nissan 's Infiniti brand, and Toyota's Lexus marque, as
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#1732873695716360-441: Is the scheme by which the function of a product is allocated to physical components. The use of a platform strategy provides several benefits: The car platform strategy has become important in new product development and in the innovation process. The finished products have to be responsive to market needs and to demonstrate distinctiveness while – at the same time – they must be developed and produced at low cost. Adopting such
390-557: The Volvo S40 . Differences between shared models typically involve styling, including headlights , tail lights, and front and rear fascias . Examples also involve differing engines and drivetrains . In some cases such as the Lexus ES that is a Toyota Camry, "same car, same blueprints, same skeleton off the same assembly line in the same factory", but the Lexus is marketed with premium coffee in
420-486: The dealership's showroom and reduced greens fees at Pebble Beach Golf Links as part of the higher-priced badge. Platform sharing may be less noticeable now; however, it is still very apparent. Vehicle architectures primarily consist of "under the skin" components, and shared platforms can show up in unusual places, like the Nissan FM platform -mates Nissan 350Z marketed as a sports car and Infiniti FX positioned as
450-568: The "big cars of the future." By 1978, General Motors made its intermediate models smaller. New "official" size designations in the U.S. were introduced by the EPA , which defined market segments by passenger and cargo space. Formerly mid-sized cars that were built on the same platform, like the AMC Matador sedan, had a combined passenger and cargo volume of 130 cubic feet (3.68 m ), and were now considered "full-size" automobiles. Cars that defined
480-599: The GA5 is 116.0kW with a maximum horsepower of 158PS and 216.0N·m. The Trumpchi GA5 PHEV or Trumpchi GA5 REV is a plug-in hybrid EV based on the base Trumpchi GA5 sedan launched on the Chinese car market in 2015. The range extender of the Trumpchi GA5 REV is a 1.0-liter, 4-cylinder petrol engine producing 31 kW (42 hp) powering an electric motor with an output of 94 kW (126 hp) and generates 225 N.m (166 lb-ft) of torque. Top speed
510-595: The NEDC driving cycle the energy consumption of the 2015 GAC Trumpchi GA5 is 16 kWh/100km. Mid-size car Mid-size —also known as intermediate —is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars . "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in the European car classification. Mid-size cars are manufactured in
540-496: The U.S. was generally defined as vehicles with wheelbases between 112 inches (2,845 mm) and 118 inches (2,997 mm). Once again, the cars grew and by 1974 they were "about as large as the full-size cars of a decade or so ago ... best sellers include Ford Torino , Chevrolet Chevelle , AMC Matador , Plymouth Satellite ..." The domestic manufacturers began changing the definition of "medium" as they developed new models for an evolving market place. A turning point occurred in
570-518: The combined passenger and cargo volume, mid-size cars are defined as having an interior volume index of 110–119 cu ft (3.1–3.4 m ). Automobile platforms A basic definition of a platform in cars, from a technical point of view, includes underbody and suspensions (with axles) — where the underbody is made of the front floor, rear floor, engine compartment, and frame (reinforcement of underbody). Key mechanical components that define an automobile platform include: Platform sharing
600-402: The compact Falcon in size and performance as well as too close to the full-sized Ford models in price. It was the introduction of General Motors " senior compacts " that grew the mid-size market segment as the line of cars themselves kept increasing in size. By 1965, these GM "A platform" mid-size models matched the size of 1955 full-size cars. During the 1970s, the intermediate class in
630-624: The entry-level luxury models are based on their mainstream lineup. For example, the Lexus ES is essentially an upgraded and rebadged Toyota Camry . After Daimler-Benz merged with Chrysler , Chrysler engineers used several M-B platforms for new models including the Crossfire which was based on the M-B SLK roadster . Other models that share platforms are the European Ford Focus , Mazda 3 , and
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#1732873695716660-465: The first car companies to use this product development approach was General Motors in 1908. General Motors used a single chassis for certain class of model across most of its brands like Chevrolet , Buick , Pontiac and Oldsmobile . Later, Chrysler Corporation would do the same for Plymouth , DeSoto and Dodge cars. Ford followed the same principle for Ford and Mercury in US markets. The chassis unit
690-548: The late 1970s, when rising fuel costs and government fuel economy regulations caused all car classes to shrink, and in many cases to blur. Automakers moved previously "full-size" nameplates to smaller platforms such as the Ford LTD II and the Plymouth Fury . A comparison test by Popular Science of four intermediate sedans (the 1976 AMC Matador, Chevrolet Malibu , Ford Torino, and Dodge Coronet ) predicted that these will be
720-674: The letter "K" to indicate their shared platform. In later stages, the "K" platform was extended in wheelbase, as well as use for several of the Corporation's different models. In the same decade, Fiat and Saab jointly developed cars using the Type Four platform to compete with the German-dominated European executive car segment. General Motors used similar strategies with its "J" platform that debuted in mid-1981 in four of GM's divisions. Subsequently, GM introduced its "A" bodies for
750-799: The mid-size market in the 1980s and 1990s included the Chrysler K-Cars ( Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant ), the Ford Taurus , and the Toyota Camry , which was upsized into the midsize class in 1991. The Taurus and Camry came to define the mid-size market for decades. Mid-size cars were the most popular category of cars sold in the United States, with 27.4 percent during the first half of 2012, ahead of crossovers at 19 percent. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Fuel Economy Regulations for 1977 and Later Model Year (dated July 1996) includes definitions for classes of automobiles. Based on
780-633: The same chassis design at different years though the primary vehicle was still in production. In the United States, platform sharing has been a common practice since the 1960s. This was when GM used the same platform in the development of the Pontiac LeMans , the Buick Skylark , the Chevrolet Chevelle , and the Oldsmobile Cutlass . In the 1980s, Chrysler 's K-cars all wore a badge with
810-399: The same components can vary, leading to different degrees of structural equality and platform similarity: The remaining vehicle parts are categorised into "head" parts and system parts: Platform sharing facilitates the efficient production and development of vehicles by leveraging common components across different models, thereby reducing costs and enhancing operational efficiency. One of
840-454: The same four divisions using the same tread width/wheelbase of the "X" body platform, but with larger bodywork to make the cars seem larger, and with larger trunk compartments. They were popular through the 1980s, primarily. Even Cadillac started offering a "J" body model called the Cimarron , a much gussied-up version of the other four brands' platform siblings. A similar strategy applied to what
870-473: Was called a compact to distinguish it from the small imported cars that were being introduced into the marketplace. By the early 1960s, the car was renamed the Rambler Classic and while it retained its basic dimensions, it was now competing with an array of new "intermediate" models from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The introduction of the 1962 Ford Fairlane was viewed by consumers as too close to
900-406: Was common with many shared mechanical components while the exterior styling and interior trims were designed according to its individual brand and category. In recent years for monocoque chassis, platform-sharing combined with advanced and flexible-manufacturing technology enabled automakers to sharply reduce product development and changeover times, while modular design and assembly allow building
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