- Bernd Luebben leads Cohda's global business development

MUNICH, March 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cohda Wireless, a global leader in connected vehicle technology, has increased its European presence by recruiting automotive industry veteran Bernd Luebben to lead its new office in Germany.

As Vice President of Business Development, Bernd joins the Cohda Wireless management team with responsibility for business development globally.

Bernd brings more than 20 years of automotive and semiconductor industry experience to Cohda Wireless, after working with Continental, Motorola TCG and Volcano (now Mentor Graphics). He also led Texas Instruments' European Automotive Sales & Application team.

Demonstrating the importance of the European market, Cohda Wireless CEO Paul Gray is currently based in Germany for three months, collaborating with tier one partners to detail final specifications for connected car technology, which is expected in production vehicles from 2016.

Cohda Wireless' expansion into Europe follows last year's opening of its US office in the Michigan city of Farmington Hills, close to key OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and tier one customers. It also capitalises on momentum from last month's announcement by the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it will start taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles.

V2V technology promises to improve vehicle safety by allowing cars to "talk" to each other, and ultimately avoid many crashes, by exchanging basic safety data, such as speed and position, 10 times per second. Cohda Wireless is a pioneer in V2X technology, which incorporates both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.

More than half of all vehicles involved in V2X trials globally contain Cohda equipment, including 1500 of the 2800 vehicles involved in the important Safety Pilot Model Deployment at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Cisco and NXP Semiconductors are strategic investors in Cohda Wireless.

Cohda Wireless CEO Paul Gray said Bernd's appointment provided increased visibility of Cohda's ground-breaking technology in European markets. "Cohda Wireless stands on the threshold of widespread adoption of V2X technology by the automotive sector," he said.

Bernd Luebben said Cohda Wireless offered a technology that would help re-shape the car industry globally. "Like seat belts and Anti-lock Braking Systems, car-to-car communications is a great leap forward in vehicle safety," he said.

Download Bernd's high-resolution image from http://www.impress.com.au/images/stories/cohda_wireless/Bernd_Luebben.jpg.

For more about Cohda Wireless, visit www.cohdawireless.com.

SOURCE Cohda Wireless