Innovations underscore SEG Automotive's commitment to advancing powertrain technologies that significantly reduce emissions, thereby contributing to global climate protection efforts.
21 Jul 2024 | 6425 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
SEG Automotive, born from the BOSCH Starter Motors & Generators division in January 2018, boasts a rich heritage spanning over a century of pioneering advancements in its field. Its legacy encompasses pivotal innovations such as the invention of the starter motor and generator, pivotal technologies that have evolved into modern ...
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SEG Automotive, born from the BOSCH Starter Motors & Generators division in January 2018, boasts a rich heritage spanning over a century of pioneering advancements in its field. Its legacy encompasses pivotal innovations such as the invention of the starter motor and generator, pivotal technologies that have evolved into modern applications like Start/Stop systems and mild-hybridisation solutions. Anil Kumar M R, President and MD, SEG Automotive shares the vision forward for the company. Excerpts.
Now that the automotive market has somewhat recovered and heading towards normalcy, how does the business outlook for SEG look like?
On the overall automotive market after a strong first quarter the markets were slightly muted in the second quarter. We see good growth coming in the second half of this calendar year driven by stronger growth in CV segment and spurred by the forth coming festive season. On the SEG front we have made significant progress in our domestic market growth on the conventional business while we see a very promising second half both on the conventional and electrification business. To keep this momentum the budget also plays a crucial role which we are looking forward.
What are your immediate priorities to grow the business?
As part of our global strategy, last man standing approach, we will continue to support the ICE market with our portfolio of starter motors and generators till the last IC engine is produced. Coming to the electrification market we target to grow strongly in two and three wheelers’ segments with new SOP’s while we see a promising trend on the E-LCV market where we start our localized high voltage motor production with global synergies. With our engineering software and solutions, we plan to strengthen our portfolio through third-party business.
What’s the status of the high voltage 400V motor project and what’s the investment going to look like. When is it expected to be operational?
On 7th March 2024, SEG Automotive India Hosur plant celebrated the inauguration of the "High Voltage E-Machine Manufacturing Line," a significant milestone marking our dedication towards a greener future and aligning with our commitment to ‘Make in India’. Along with in-house production facilities, we also have invested in the state-of-the-art testing facilities of high voltage electric motors and systems in our engineering competence center, Bangalore. SEG Automotive being the largest manufacturer of mildhybrid e-drives in Europe, it is also bringing this technology to India – what technologies are we talking about. Basically, the story of system integration started 10 years ago with the Boost recuperation machine which is the main drive for mild hybrids. It's a part of our global strategy, where we integrated a claw pole machine with an inverter and a software to make an integrated system.
Today we are the market leaders in Europe for mild-hybrid machines producing more than a million of them in our Treto, Spain plant. All mild hybrid machines from SEG have the software with a maturity of ASPICE level two and safety up to ASIL “D”.
How’s the market evolving for 48V mild hybrid systems in India?
We are closely observing the market trends and in discussions with customers to understand the requirements of 48V mild hybrid systems in India. If the volumes for such technology picksup, we are ready to localise as we already have know-how about the system and be part of this journey to reduce the carbon footprint for the country. The localisation aspect and bringing costs down has been a focus area of government and businesses. Where are you on this aspect with your partners? If we see our conventional business of starter motors and generators, we are at maximum level of localisation, bringing the efficient solutions to our customers. The main aim of this drive is to bring the international quality standards ensuring zero defects to the customers.
Even for electric motors we localise entire content except for magnets and electronics, this makes our solution a win-win situation exceeding the requirements of localisation targets for our customers and also to be ahead of the competition.
Although your business caters to 48V motors for E-mobility solutions, what other products are you involved in for EVs?
As stated above we offer products and systems across the electrification portfolio, our range starts from 500-watt up to 300kW with voltage ranging from 48V to 800V. We pride ourselves in providing a high level of localisation and offer system solutions with our competent and passionate team. We cover the markets of two wheelers, three wheelers, E-LCV’s, Passenger cars and heavy commercial vehicles.
This feature was first published in Autocar Professional's July 15, 2024 issue.