The Automotive Market is Turning Electric

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

OUTLINES:

• The power electronics market for EV/HEV will reach $13B by 2021.
• Technology and business developments, as well as business opportunities, are expected in this growing industry.
• Power electronics: technological innovations and breakthroughs will be driven by automotive evolution.
• Market growth can reshape the entire value chain.

Electrified vehicles will be part of our future. Indeed, after many years of research and development, successes and failures, car manufacturers, their partners, governments and public are now ready. Thus, each one accepted the game: governments decided strong incentives to promote the electric mobility; car makers developed more and more electrified vehicles, broadening their cars range; the introduction of disruptive technologies allowed the vehicle autonomy increase. And globally the general opinion about electric cars evolved to become really positive and curious… EV/HEV represented 30% of the overall power module market in 2015; this figure will come to almost 50% by 2021 reaching a US$ 2.3 billion market.

Yole Développement (Yole), the “More than Moore” market research and strategy consulting company releases the report Power Electronics for EV/HEV 2016: Market, Innovations and Trends. With this new report, the company proposes updated market metrics and forecasts for electrified vehicles and a comprehensive geographical analysis. Yole’s analysts highlight the related incentives and deterrents for market growth.

Within its new report, Yole is considering 4 converters in one electric/hybrid electric vehicle.

Sales of battery electric cars doubled between 2014 and 2015. And 2015-2016 news wrap-up confirms the full commitment of car manufacturers and their partners to develop innovative electrified vehicles:

• After the launch of its Model X in 2015, Tesla Motors confirms its expansion strategy by announcing the release of the Model 3 in 2017.
• Toyota, a pioneer within the vehicles electrification follows its strategy and introduce new developments on FCV technology.
• Daimler adopts Toyota’s approach and present a new FCV vehicle at Tokyo Motor Show 2015.
• After the “Diesel-gate”, Volkswagen moves towards electrification and plans 20 new PHEVs before 2020
• All these occurrences demonstrate the first sign of the widespread acceptance of electrified cars. 

Pushed by aggressive targets in terms of CO2 emissions, electrification is undoubtedly the “greenest” option for car makers, with “diesel-gate” strengthening this impression and improving the public’s opinion of electric cars. The offer for electric and hybrid cars is growing by leaps and bounds, with premium car makers like Aston Martin and Jaguar also involved, and established car makers like General Motors launching affordable electric vehicles with sufficient range to be competitive with gas-powered vehicles. Once seen as a fancy-yet-flawed technology, electric cars are now becoming attractive thanks to players like Tesla and the financial benefits of owning an electric vehicle. The development of a charging infrastructure and an increasing range have also helped boost the market.

Considering all of these advantages, along with the political push for the mass adoption of electric cars, the market could be even higher. However, in order for electrified cars to enjoy global appeal some obstacles still must be cleared, such as charging regulations and the high sticker price compared to ICE vehicles.

“China’s influence on the electric car market is huge”, comments Coralie Le Bret, Technology & Market Analyst, Power electronics at Yole. And she details: “In 2015, 2 of the 5 leading companies for BEVs and PEHVs are Chinese”. Therefore, BYD held the number one market position with about 62 thousand vehicles sold including 5 electrified vehicles. Just after, at the second position, Renault-Nissan was showing 45 thousand vehicles sold with 8 electrified vehicles. And, at the third position, Volkswagen had 38 thousand vehicles sold with 3 electrified cars…“The EV/HEV market leadership is so clearly depending on the geographical area and the type of electrification”, confirms Coralie Le Bret.

Yole’s report proposes a detailed analysis of electrification’s pros and cons, as well as updated market data for electric cars by electrification type and associated power electronics. It includes inverter, power module, and power device. Market insights are also presented by Yole’s analysts for the batteries used in electrified vehicles. A detailed description of this report is available on i-micronews.com, power electronics report section.