Platformization of electric vehicles

Set out to develop a shared platform that will control the lifeblood of future electric vehicles

Today, the global automotive industry is ushering in a once-in-a-century wave of technological innovation. Among them, the two major technical fields of automobile electrification and autonomous driving are the most representative, and the field of pure electric vehicles (EVs) that rely on motor drive is attracting attention. As we all know, compared with traditional fuel vehicles, pure electric vehicles are not only green and environmentally friendly, but also have the characteristics of halving the number of parts, low production costs, and low market prices, which can meet the needs of more consumers for automobiles. According to a survey released by a consulting company*, new BEVs are expected to account for 30% of the total global new vehicle sales in 2025, and in 2030, five years later, the proportion of new EV sales will exceed half, rapidly rising to 51%. In this regard, Japan Denko sees 2025 as a watershed year between pure electric vehicles and conventional fuel vehicles, and we will do everything possible to contribute to the development of electrification of automobiles, starting with product development and production.

In addition to drive motors that replace engines and provide driving power for automobiles, Japan Denco is also engaged in the development, production, and sales of various automotive products related to the three basic properties of automobiles, such as electric power steering motors, camera components that are indispensable for automotive remote sensing technology, and millimeter-wave radar units. At the same time, Japan Denco has entered the next stage of new development and has begun to develop an automotive platform for carrying the above-mentioned parts.

An automotive platform is a part of the frame other than the engine and motor of the transmission system, as well as the suspension and body. Until now, only automotive OEMs have the ability to develop and produce their own frames. The reason for this is that in addition to the extremely high requirements for safety and reliability of this product, the products related to the business strategy of each OEM contain a lot of their own proprietary technology, and other manufacturers simply cannot overcome this industry barrier. However, as the automotive industry enters the era of electrification, we predict that more new companies will pour into the industry to invest in the research and development of pure electric vehicles. For these emerging companies, as long as there are manufacturers to provide them with the automotive platform they need for R&D, they no longer have to spend a lot of manpower and financial resources to develop their own, and they can bring new cars to market faster. In addition, automobiles in the era of electrification are like computers, and each manufacturer can put together various purchased parts and put them on the market as their own products. At that time, the current major automobile OEMs will also shift the focus of the industry from the previous hardware development to software differentiation, and some OEMs will naturally consider purchasing automotive platforms from the outside to put more energy into software competition.

Of course, the first condition for getting involved in the automotive platform industry is to ensure the safety and reliability of the product in all aspects. In the production process of various types of auto parts for many years, Japan Densan has continuously studied and actively pursued the quality requirements of various customers, and has invested heavily in various necessary testing equipment to further improve product quality. As a result, Japan Denko, which initially provided motor products to companies in the IT and home appliance industries, has the advantage of being able to respond flexibly to rapid market changes.

In the future, the demand for automobiles in emerging countries is expected to grow explosively. Whether the price of cars can be further reduced and consumers around the world can drive the pure electric vehicles they have been dreaming of for a long time depends on the car platform built for pure electric vehicles. If the automotive platform project is successful, there will be many times more new models on the market in the future than there are today. Japan Denco will strive to break down the barriers of the current automotive industry and lead the era of vehicle electrification as a "creative disruptor."

Platformization of electric vehicles

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