Continental AG’s Plans for E-Mobility – EV Next
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Introduction
In August 2019, the company declared that it will no longer invest in parts used in internal combustion engines from. Instead, the company will put more focus and capital on the electric powertrain, which it believes is the “future of mobility.”
Company Profile
Continental AG is an automotive supplier. The Company’s segments include Chassis & Safety, Powertrain, Interior, Tires, ContiTech and Other/consolidation. The Chassis & Safety division develops, produces and markets intelligent systems. The Chassis & Safety division consists of four business units: Vehicle Dynamics, Hydraulic Brake Systems, Passive Safety & Sensorics, and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.
Product Profile
- Continental offers vehicle manufacturers the components and systems they need to gradually bring tailor-made electrification to the roads, from start/stop technologies as well as 48-volt and hybrid components to systems for purely electric vehicles.
- Develops tire technologies for high performance/ off-road electric vehicles.
- Thermal management systems in EV batteries.
- Suspension and anti vibration solutions for passenger cars
- Motor mount systems
- Other components include –
- High voltage power electronics, inverters and converters
- BMS
- Battery junction box
- Powertrain domain control unit.
- High voltage axle drive
- Smart great actuator etc.
The all-charge technology of Continental turns the electric powertrain into a universal charger catering to all types of cable-based charging stations. This helps in attaining maximum charge in a given power station.
Future Plans
- The company began construction work on a plant to manufacture premium surface materials for the automotive industry in December 2018.
- Continental has begun production of its first 48-volt hybrid drive. From 2016-end, diesel variants of the Renault Scénic and Grand Scénic models have been equipped with it. Another promising technology is the 48-volt mild hybrid diesel engine. The 48-volt mild hybrid system not only reduces fuel consumption (and therefore CO2 emissions) but can also achieve significant reductions in pollutant emissions from diesel engines.
- Continental Automotive India sees faster growth potential in electrification of the two-wheeler market in India, especially of scooters.
- The company believes that it will be easier to shift towards electric two-wheelers that are powered by batteries of 48 volts and 60 volts than possibly passenger cars.
- Once into electrification, the company sees a lot of advantage in integrating drive with full gear train, reducers, and axles. The company has products, where they integrate the electric drive with axle motors and axle drives and integrate the power electronics into a whole package.
R&D
- The company has commenced development work on power electronics, software, and charging devices so that market specific requirements can be developed for electric vehicles at its Bangalore Technical Center from December 2017.
- The company believes that the cars of the future will feature electric drives, which will be fully connected and automated. So, it is rapidly scaling up its R&D efforts and working on innovative technologies.
Other Strategic Perspectives
- The company would localize the parts at the right time. They have already planned electronics for India that could accommodate products for electrification.
- A senior executive believes there is still some time when individuals cars become pure EVs, that will be a gradual process. It could become a mass market only after 2025 or even later, but not before that.
- Continental is making specific choices on what exactly it pursues. The company will not consider producing solid-state battery cells in the future even though in 2018, they were open to the idea of battery manufacture.
Global Work
- The component manufacturer started mass production of its first fully integrated axle drive in China in July 2019.
- In May 2015, It bought Germany based Elektrobit Oyj’s automotive division for 600 million euros ($677.5 million) to broaden its product range as demand for electronic components and software in cars.
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