Does TRW have any interest in Hybrid vehicle technology?
JP: If you open any motor magazine today, youll see hybrid cars, it seems that hybrid cars are going to save the planet! Its certainly a hot trend triggered by the Japanese car makers. You might be interested to know that it was pioneered, based on very old TRW paper from 1971-1972, which describes exactly what the Japanese companies are doing today. Today, TRW is developing products for hybrid cars such as electric braking and steering which are needed because when the combustion engines are switched off and you are running on electricity only you still want to have a functioning braking and steering system. Electric steering systems can also achieve another 2 or 3 % reduction in fuel consumption because they only draw energy when needed rather than continuously as with hydraulic systems. TRW is one of the top 3 suppliers of EPS systems across the world. NF: How did TRW grow in 2004? Which product lines do you think brought growth to TRW over that period and what are your views on the
