Kenichi Kirihara of Astemo explains in an interview why the Nürburgring is an important development location for the company.

Since when has your company been using the Nürburgring for test and development activities, and what role does the Nordschleife play in your development work today?
 Astemo has been a member of the Industry Pool since 2025. Since then, we have been sending our development teams from Japan and Europe to the Nordschleife on a regular basis. The Nürburgring is important for us, because it is absolutely unique. Nowhere else in the world can we find a track or proving ground on which vehicle dynamics can be tested so comprehensively.

There are numerous test facilities around the world. From your perspective, what makes the Nordschleife unique, and what insights can be gained here that are difficult or even impossible to obtain elsewhere?
73 corners, 300m vertical and almost 21km distance per lap is unique. The track has changing tarmac qualities, undulations and demanding successions of corners. You learn a lot about the performance of your chassis hardware and – increasingly important – about the chassis control systems. I can’t think of another track that is more demanding for road vehicles.

What role do factors such as the track layout, infrastructure, the surrounding automotive ecosystem, as well as the Nürburgring's history and reputation play in this context?
The track layout plays an important role in the development of our Cross-Domain Integrated Control System. In this system the chassis components – steering, brakes, and suspension – and even the electric powertrain communicate amongst each other and are centrally controlled. If the system works well on the Nordschleife, we can be pretty sure that it works well on all roads. 

The Nürburgring I-Pool Team is doing a phantastic job in providing a safe environment for us and our fellow industry colleagues. We appreciate the continuous upgrades of the T13 area and the infrastructure along the track. We have a development base in the area, and the local ecosystem provides all services that we might need. The history of the Nordschleife is probably not so relevant for the actual development work. But we all have Nürburgring stickers on our suitcases and on our cars at home – you can say that we are emotionally attached to the Ring.

Your company is not headquartered in Germany. Why do you invest the effort required to bring personnel, vehicles and components to the Nürburgring?
We have to find the most demanding environment to bring out the best in our engineers and our technology. To increase the efficiency of our work here we have established a development base near the Nordschleife.  We do that because innovative technology doesn’t come to us in our sleep – we have to work hard for it.

What significance does the Nürburgring have for the perception of your brand and products, both in your home markets and internationally?
The significance for our products is very clear: the Nürburgring makes them better. 
Valuable technologies proven at the Nürburgring are respected by OEMs and suppliers worldwide and serve as a highly effective means of enhancing our own brand value.

What role does the Nordschleife play for companies seeking to strengthen or expand their credibility and market presence in Europe?
The Nordschleife in the automotive industry is what New York is in show business – if you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere. If we are serious about our technology we have to develop it under the most demanding and unforgiving conditions.

How do you integrate the Nürburgring into the communication surrounding your product development, and what significance do record laps or other publicly communicated test results have in this context?
Our Social Media Team is using some of the activities. But since we are working on rather advanced technologies here, we don’t want to open up too much about it.
For people with a high interest in cars and automotive technology, record laps are a great thrill. They are a good measure for objective comparisons between various types of vehicles.