The EV Era is coming: USI enters the global EV powertrain system supply chain

Under the increasing environmental concerns in the reduction of carbon emission, governments all over the world have legislated relative requirements to drive the manufacturing and marketing of electric vehicles (EVs). To avoid the potential penalties and predictable loss of goodwill prompts auto OEMs to accelerate the development of electrified powertrain systems meeting the tightening carbon emission standards. According to "Electric Vehicles-Setting a Course for 2030" by Deloitte Global, the global compound annual growth rate of EVs in 2030 would reach 29%. In addition to policy and legislative initiatives by governments, the driving forces of this growth momentum include the change in consumer confidence, OEMs' strategy, and the maturity of the commercial EV market.

There are five major electric systems in electric vehicles: body electrics, charging system, batteries, electric motors and thermal systems. While the non-traditional automotive suppliers are penetrating in battery and electric motor applications, the traditional automotive suppliers can engage in power electronic unit and thermal systems which are the major focus for USI in the development of EV powertrain applications.

Having more than 20-year experiences in manufacturing power electronic units, USI plans to penetrate the supply chain of xEV powertrain systems. By introducing the automotive functional safety standard ISO26262 and being certified with Chapters II and VII for manufacturing, USI has been well-recognized by OEMs and tier-I suppliers in the past few years. The production of the EV powertrain system and the thermal system will be started in 2021.

After acquiring Asteelflash, the second largest EMS manufacturer in Europe in December 2020, USI now runs 27 production bases across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa and is capable of meeting OEMs and tier-I suppliers' local supply requirements to create more values for customers.

According to Jack Hou, USI Senior Vice President and General Manager of Automotive Electronics Business Unit, the powertrain systems of electric vehicles are different from traditional internal combustion engines (ICE) in terms of structures and frameworks. The purchasing strategies of OEMs were therefore adjusted causing traditional tier-I suppliers are no longer the major choice in the supply chain. This creates a huge business opportunity for USI. The demand for parts associated with EVs will be one of the future revenue contributors to USI's automotive electronics. USI will create differentiation through collaboration, automation, and the continuous reinforcement of EV-related power manufacturing and testing technologies.