Analysis on the development of new energy vehicle motor and electronic control industry

With the development of the new energy vehicle market, the motor and electronic control industry has also been promoted synchronously. The overall development market shows trends such as integration, modularization, and high efficiency, and core technology has become the foundation for enterprises.

1. Market performance of China's new energy drive motor industry

In recent years, the installed capacity of drive motors for new energy vehicles in China has shown an overall upward trend. In 2019, affected by the overall cold market for new energy vehicles, the installed capacity showed a slight decline.

Market performance in 2020: Affected by the epidemic, the installed capacity of drive motors dropped sharply in February, and gradually recovered from March to May. Judging from the development trend, the drive motor market is still dominated by passenger cars and permanent magnet synchronous motors.

2. Market size of electric motors and electronic controls for new energy vehicles in China

There are large differences in the prices of motors and electronic controls for different models. According to the calculation that the cost of electronic controls will drop by 8% annually and the cost of motors will drop by 5% annually, the market size of motors and electronic controls will reach 29.5 billion yuan in 2020.

Data source: compiled based on public information

3. Competition landscape of new energy vehicle drive motors in my country

The main participants in the new energy vehicle drive motor market can be roughly divided into two categories: one is traditional vehicle manufacturers with self-production capabilities or related supply chains, such as BYD, BAIC, Xiamen Golden Dragon, Zhengzhou Yutong, etc.; the other is suppliers specializing in automotive parts or motor and electronic control products, such as Bosch , Continental, Shanghai Electric Drive, Shanghai Dajun, Huichuan Technology, INVT, etc.

At present, leading passenger car and coach manufacturers tend to provide their own motors. Third-party companies currently have obvious advantages in the fields of small and medium-sized buses and special-purpose vehicles, but their penetration rate in the passenger car field is relatively low.

Competition landscape of my country's new energy drive motor industry

4. Technical direction of drive motors for new energy vehicles in my country

At present, many companies are actively promoting product upgrades and developing "three-in-one" integrated products, and the products are moving towards lightweight, miniaturization and low cost; with the mass production of new energy vehicles, the power system has shown a trend of high integration, permanent magnet synchronization of motors, high power density, multi-speed reduction system, and diversified cooling system.

5. Technology Trends of New Energy Vehicle Motor Controllers in my country

Due to the relatively late start of power electronics technology, there is a large gap between the power density level of domestic motor controllers and that of foreign countries. Of course, this gap is gradually narrowing. The main technical modules covered in the field of motor controllers include: electronic control module (hardware circuit and corresponding control software), driver (converting the microcontroller's control signal to the motor into a drive signal for driving the power converter, and isolating the power signal and control signal) and power conversion module (controlling the motor current). The current development trend mainly presents four major characteristics:

1. High security: With more and more integrated functions, security requirements are becoming higher and higher.

2. High power density: The external volume is miniaturized as the packaging progresses.

3. High voltage: The direction of GBT is 650V, and the design of IGBT is towards higher 750V and 1200V.

4. EMC high level: The next step is to reach class 5 level.

Power modules are the bottleneck restricting the development of domestic motor controllers. my country has also gradually developed semiconductor packaging companies that can make devices for batch applications, and are gradually moving towards independence. Relevant industry support policies have also been launched simultaneously. "Made in China 2025" points out that drive motors are very important components in the three fields of new energy vehicles, energy-saving vehicles, and automobile manufacturing; the "Thirteenth Five-Year Key R&D Plan" points out that the development goal of motor controllers is to achieve power doubling, and by 2025, the power density of silicon carbide devices will reach 32~36kW/L. This part mainly involves drive motors, power electronics, electric drive assemblies, and motor controllers.

6. Development trend of my country's new energy vehicle motor and electronic control industry

The sluggish new energy vehicle market and the decline in subsidies have directly affected the financial strength of vehicle manufacturers, reducing their ability and willingness to invest in parts. At present, vehicle manufacturers are gradually divesting their parts businesses, and the corresponding parts companies are "taking over" the original assembly development and production tasks of vehicle manufacturers. The synchronous development capabilities are increasing, and "large assembly" suppliers and even "0.5-level suppliers" are emerging. In terms of products, the motor and electronic control market is in a growth stage, but price competition is still fierce in the short term. Motor and electronic control suppliers with technical advantages and deep ties with vehicle manufacturers are expected to become leading companies.

Development is ultimately a competition of technology, and the technological trend determines the future direction of development. From the perspective of domestic development, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the major technical parameters of motor and electronic control products (peak power, torque, power density, etc.). Overall, in the competition of the electric drive industry, whoever masters the core technology will have the upper hand.

Industry trends: Integration, modularization, high efficiency and digital intelligence are important development directions, and technological innovation is a new breakthrough point;

Enterprise layout: Foreign enterprises are accelerating the layout of new integrated products, and many enterprises have entered the Chinese market strongly. Local enterprises have a great advantage thanks to the abundant rare earth resources in China. At the same time, the power density of my country's drive motors has been further improved, flat wire process motors have begun to be applied in batches, silicon carbide controllers have been successfully used in production vehicles, and the speed of high-speed reducers has reached 16,000~18,000rpm. The forward development capabilities of local enterprises have gradually gained advantages.

Development direction: Further integrate modules such as electric drive system and integrated high-voltage power distribution system for further integration.