Continental increases investments into electric powertrain
Continental expects a massive change of powertrain technologies throughout the next 15 years, and the direction is clear: Electric (battery electric and hybrid) powertrains will gain market share. Having already invested 1 billion euros into the electric powertrain business in the past five years, the company believes that the upward trend will increase in the foreseeable future: By 2020, the company expects sales of electric powertrains will climb to 1 billion euros from 130 million euros in the past year. By 2025, Continental sees an additional sales potential of 2 billion euros – with components for hybrid electric powertrains alone, explained José Avila, general manager of Continental’s Powertrain Division.
By 2025, all-electric cars will have a market share of some 10%, added Continental CEO Elmar Degenhart. At the same point in time, hybrid powertrains will account for almost 30%. Conversely, this means that the conventional powertrain with internal combustion engines will prevail for almost the next decade; it will decline slowly from 2025 onwards, Degenhart believes. The Continental boss (like, by the way, competitor Bosch) still sees plenty of headroom to improve its efficiency. The 48V technology is an important building block to open up this headroom. There is, of course, headroom to better its environmental friendliness. Avila expects that stricter emission standards will force carmakers to invest in low-emission and exhaust gas treatment technologies. This bodes well for the supplier: More sensors, electronic components and software will be needed; their share in conventional powertrains will continue to rise.
Nevertheless, the rising sales to the electric powertrain markets will more than offset the declining volume for conventional ones from 2025 onwards, the company calculates.
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