It’s not just OEMs but many component players are also backing hybrids as the potential gamechanger in the road towards full electrification. BorgWarner is clear in its focus. Along with electrification and catering to convention ICE vehicles, hybrids are also on their radar and the management in betting big on India in achieving its global goals. The company has been very strategic in diversifying the product portfolio instead of putting all the eggs in one basket. That said, they are targetting 50% of revenue through electrification by 2030.
In a conversation with Financial Express Online, the leadership team- Chandrasekar Krishnamurthy, Global Engineering Director, BorgWarner and Dwarka Simili, Head, India Propulsion Engineering Centre, BorgWarner believe that transitional technology like hybrids play an important role in paving the way for full-battery electric vehicles.
Making a case for hybrids
Chandrasekar Krishnamurthy explained that “When you look at the cost differences and the affordability playing a major role in the adoption of full battery electric vehicles, hybrids are a good intermediate step and also addressing very specific customer needs.”
According to them, hybrids are supporting that use case today, and the mass adoption of battery electric vehicles is still slowly increasing, “hybrids are mostly seen as a transitional technology and that’s the reason the Governments are still supporting it because it’s still a green technology.”
Looking at the product portfolio, their strategy is to scale products in a way that they can cater to this transitional hybrid and plug-in hybrid technologies equally effectively. “That would enable us to still be successful with our current business from a purely revenue growth standpoint and also be part of that transition to full battery electric vehicles for the future. The bottom line is we have a very resilient product portfolio in the power electronics space which can and will support hybrids and plug-in hybrids,” added Krishnamurthy.
Charging Forward- Goals for 2030
BorgWarner’s future strategy is defined as “Charging Forward” as part of the goals for 2030 and they plan to have “50% of revenue through electrification. So our product portfolio is clearly divided between electrification as well as our foundation business with our ICE products. Overall we are resilient to this change in the market,” pointed out Krishnamurthy.
He added that the company’s “business unit for Power Drive Systems is strongly pivoted into power electronics and electrification and our product portfolio is catering not only to pure electric battery electric vehicles but also for hybrid vehicles and plug-in.” Thereby underscoring the role of electrification in enhancing the company’s revenue scope.
Why India matters?
That said, BorgWarner is not in a hurry. The company is emphatic in outlining that they have been waiting for the market to evolve by “catering to multiple technologies. BorgWarner has already been “engaging with Indian OEMs to strategically align their plans with our product. We are working closely now with with a few OEMs to really understand their needs,” added Simili.
The other key factor that encourages them about going ahead with the India plans, Krishnamurthy outlined, is that “a significant interest by the OEMs to also work with BorgWarner because we are seen as a market leader in the products that we offer. The High Voltage Lab capability that we have built is a significant step forward for us to be prepared when the opportunity arises. As they say, luck favours the prepared and we are preparing ourselves with all the right foundation for success in India.”
