Alliance Set Up in Taiwan to Drive EV Development with Advanced Propulsions
Ultimate goal is to set
2011/01/11 | By Quincy LiangAiming to help more local suppliers to be global tier-ones for EV makers, the Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC) in Taiwan, the largest automotive testing and certification organization on the island, recently tied up with several private EV-related makers to establish the "EV Advanced Propulsion Driving System (EV-APDS) Strategic Alliance."
The domestic members in the Alliance include Fukuta Elec. & Mach. Co., Ltd. (to handle development of EV motors), Rich Electric Co., Ltd. (propulsion controls), and Kuo Yuan Enterprise Co., Ltd. (EV transmission); while the ARTC will help with system controls, intelligent-vehicle integration and certification.
Witnessing the signing of the agreement was K.H. Huang, senior consultant to the Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), with ARTC president Joe Huang signing the Alliance agreement with the parties-in-charge of the three local firms. Perhaps to introduce a combination of current EV development and novelty, the organizer, after the ceremony, rolled out an intelligent urban EV-the i-EV-for media test drives.
Ultimate Goal
Ideally and ultimately, the Alliance looks to set up a global EV propulsion-system company within three years to tap into the global assembled-EV market by exporting system modules or partnering with international EV makers in technology development.
Huang says that the Alliance has a budget of US$15.7 million for R&D projects that will generate total production value of US$94 million in three years.
Apparently the Alliance had been busy working on EVs before its official formation. J.F. Chang, president of Fukuta, the motor supplier to the upscale, sporty Tesla EV made in California, says the i-EV is just the first achievement of the Alliance. Clearly brimming with confidence, Chang says that the Alliance members will continue to impress the global EV community by developing Taiwan into a major exporter of key EV propulsion systems and parts.
More Relevant
The ARTC president says EVs is increasingly relevant globally, becoming a trend as inevitable as global warming, hence driving rapid development of all the related technologies. That means, he believes, whoever controls the key innovations will be positioned to tap the earliest business opportunities or join global tier-1 supply chains. "Taiwan will soon develop homegrown key technologies for EVs, which will push Taiwan into the lead in the emerging business," says Huang.
Detractors can argue that all the advanced electric controls and creature comforts are not going to turn EVs into a massively popular urban transport overnight. Consider that the Mitsubishi i-MiEV available in Britain from January 1, 2011 is priced at about US$52,000, including the US$7,715 government incentive. Note that this micro-EV is like a Smart but costs double that of a basic Honda, which carries four.
But K.L. Wong, an ARTC project manger, has encouraging figures to support the future of the Alliance: different major market researchers predict global annual EV sales to total an average of four million vehicles by 2015, extrapolated between the most optimistic number of over six million units and the least so of about one million. Especially in Europe, Wong says, EV sales are expected to grow over 100% between 2012 and 2014.
Quoting findings of Japanese market forecast company Hiedge, Wong says in 2009 the adoption rate of mid-powered EV motors was 34%, similar to that of high-powered (>120kw) and low-powered (0-40kw) counterparts. But by 2015, he adds, the rate of mid-powered motors is forecast to reach 48.5%, much higher than 20.1% of high-powered and 20.2% of low-power ones. "Alongside technical advancement and increasing consumer acceptance," Wong adds, "we are witnessing the increasing adoption of mid-powered (81-120kw) motors that are horsepower-similar to 1,600cc to 2,400cc internal combustion engines."
Changing Supply Chain
The global automotive supply chain has been evolving to welcome the coming of the EV era, Wong says. In the past, most carmakers using ICEs adopted centralized design and manufacturing in which parts suppliers were only original equipment manufacturers. But in recent years, carmakers have kept centralized design but resorting to outsourcing of parts to cut cost and upgrade production efficiency.
When intelligent EVs are launched globally with higher horsepower, Wong says vehicle makers have to work more closely with key-parts suppliers, or even rely on such suppliers whose role will be upgraded to mainly system ODMs (original design manufacturers), with the supply-chain operating on integrated development and systematic marketing. Without detailing exactly why, such supply-chain change, he adds, would generate a lot of lucrative business opportunities for Taiwanese developers and suppliers of key EV systems.
SWOT Analysis
Using a well-known business school approach, Wong also looks at the local EV industry with SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis.
The strengths backing the EV sector in Taiwan includes, according to Wong, companies already supplying key parts as motor, lithium-ion cells etc. to international EV makers; and solid support from Taiwan's world-class auto-parts and information and communication technology (ICT) industries that can help develop the EV industry; and superior manufacturing and assembly capabilities as well as easier integration of industrial clusters to help develop the new business.
The weakness, however, is that Taiwan has no EV maker who can stand on its own feet. Simply there is no maker able to build total EV solutions nor system ODM. Most local automakers are still at the mercy of foreign technical partners, especially the Japanese, in new-technology development, hence lack the experience and know-how to build cars independently or in electro-mechanical integration.
Not all is gloomy however. Taiwan still has some good opportunities in the initial development of EVs, especially when some Taiwanese companies have been chosen by famous EV makers as suppliers, hence paving the way for them to become world-class suppliers of original equipment and aftermarket parts. Companies with unique and innovative technologies or products can look to build niches globally.
Threats also exist along similar lines as lacking independent technologies. Wong says increasingly more big players from industrially advanced nations are deploying patented key EV systems, preventing Taiwanese players from easily growing in a technologically-demanding industry. And Taiwanese players are having to compete against the Big Leaguers in the rapidly developing EV market in China, which looks to be as attractive as its world-leading ICE car segment.
Specification of i-EV | ||
Vehicle Platform | China Motor Corp. | Colt Plus |
Motor | Fukuta Elec. & Mach. Co., Ltd. | Rated Output Power: 30Kw-69Kw; Rated RPM 5,000 to 12,000 |
Converter | Rich Electric | Air-cooled, Rated Input 330VDC/160A |
Reducer | Kuo Yuan Enterprise Co., Ltd. | Gear Ratio: 1:10.1 |
Battery | -- | LiFePO4, 330VDC/40Ah |
Electric Power Steering (EPS) | ARTC | Output 500kg, permanent-magnetic motor, 12V, output 520W |
Electric Parking Brake (EPB) | ARTC | Drag power 150kg, actuation 1.6 second |
Electric Air Conditioner | ARTC | Spiral-type compressor, capacity 30cc, power 2.5kw, DC brushless motor 330V, climate-control system. |
Networking | ARTC | CAN bus 500Kbps |
Vehicle Weight | ARTC | 131 Km/h |
Acceleration | -- | 6.9s @ 0-60 km/h |
Climbility | -- | 35-dgeree |
Source: ARTC | ||