Dekra is to take over the Lausitzring race track in Germany this November. Together with the Dekra Technology Center (DTC), which is in immediate proximity to the track in Klettwitz, the site will be made into an innovation center for testing new vehicle technologies.
It will become a central component of the company’s international testing network for connected and automated driving, which Dekra is currently establishing in Europe and Asia, at a cost of €30m (US$92.5m).
In Klettwitz, the focus will be on the construction of new facilities for all aspects of automated driving and expansion of existing capabilities.
“We are investing in roads and facilities for the comprehensive testing of automated driving functions. This will enable us, as a development and testing partner for the automotive industry, to set up very complex scenarios, for urban, non-urban or highway journeys, in a highly flexible way,” said Clemens Klinke, member of the board at Dekra and head of the automotive business unit.
More specifically, there will be two city routes, an overland route and a highway route on the existing test oval, along with several large asphalt areas, which are ideal for such tests.
The infrastructure will also include all the necessary components for the integration of V2V and V2X communication infrastructure. “Measuring equipment will include systems such as driving robots, self-propelled platforms, various soft targets and mobile traffic infrastructure, which we can use to test camera-, laser- and radar-based environment recognition systems,” added Klinke.
Dekra employee numbers in the region will be increased from 48 to approximately 100 – in addition to the almost 100 employees at the DTC today.
Following the takeover, the site will be made available to customers from early 2018. The expansion of tracks and infrastructure is scheduled for completion in 2018.
July 20, 2017