Tenneco has completion the construction of a fully automated production line for Monroe brand fully active suspension actuators at its Suzhou facility in China. The production line forms part of Tenneco’s investments to increase its presence in the Chinese market and in the broader new energy vehicle and intelligent driving sectors.
The new production line integrates automated, flexible, and intelligent manufacturing processes, created to enable real-time traceability of key production data to ensure stable, consistent, and high-quality output. The line will manufacture Monroe Full Active Suspension (FAS) actuators, which have been developed primarily by Tenneco’s China team, with the main target market being China.
The company also has an R&D centre in Beijing and two production bases in Changzhou and Suzhou, working on a range of products ranging from passive and semi-active to fully active dampers.
FAS technology delivers millisecond-level responses to changing road conditions, providing powerful lifting and pressing active forces while achieving independent wheel decoupling. It is deigned to actively suppress vehicle body roll and pitch, and absorbs road bumps, for a comfortable and safe ride.
Active suspension systems are becoming a popular option in high-end vehicle models in China’s new energy vehicle market. The fully active suspension actuators produced at the Suzhou plant are expected to help meet demand when the new line begins mass production in the fourth quarter of this year.
Tenneco says the product has already received supplier designations from two customers, with discussions underway with several other automakers.
Sean Li, president of Tenneco APAC, commented: “The new production line at our Suzhou facility further enhances our ability to develop, manufacture and deliver premium electronically controlled damping solutions in China. In light of the continuous innovation from Chinese automakers, our well-empowered local team enables us to respond more quickly to OEM needs in terms of product performance, development cycles, and production timelines – supporting our customers in accelerating the launch of new vehicle models.”
