Automotive Market Shifts Into Low Gear, Inspiring Innovation Mode
Bishop & Associates Inc.

The future outlook for the automotive segment is based on a myriad of factors, the most important clearly being overall vehicle production. While outlook for vehicle production is cloudy at best, there are a number of industry dynamics that continue to influence and reshape technology in this area. The single biggest driver is government-mandated improvements in fuel economy and vehicle emissions. How various companies respond to this and focus their development efforts varies widely.

Powertrain Connectors
The 2008 market for automotive connectors utilized in powertrain applications was $1.6 billion, accounting for 18 percent of the global automotive connector market. 

2008 Powertrain Connector Market
($1.6 billion)

Powertrain controllers have evolved into sophisticated, closed loop, real-time computers, integrating the functions of engine control and transmission control into a single processor. Powertrain controls have reached a rather high level of maturity and market saturation. Overall market growth is driven mostly by vehicle production, however, many new technologies are impacting component design and systems integration. One important item to note: Many of the control functions are integrated into a single controller, and so for that reason the segment noted as “Powertrain, NEC,” is fairly large.

While hybrid and electric vehicle technologies have attracted considerable attention in recent years, don’t write off conventional engine technologies just yet.

Internal Combustion Engines
Internal combustion engines have become the preferred power source in North America, Japan, and many other regions of the world, primarily due to manufacturing costs that are lower than those associated with diesel engines. Engine downsizing has become a common technique to improve fuel economy and lower net emissions, primarily due to a net reduction in vehicle weight. The primary challenge is to achieve acceptable power and performance, while achieving mileage and emission goals. To achieve these goals, a turbocharger is generally considered to be a key technology strategy.

Visteon Variable Enhancement Torque System
(VTES)

Visteon is developing an electronic-controlled, electric supercharger that overcomes the problem of reduced torque, an issue that generally affects downsized engines. The system is being developed in their U.K. operations in order to meet ACEA-mandated fuel standards for 2012. One advantage of the design is its small size, which requires no modifications to the hood design.

Variable valve timing provides another approach to boosting power. Honda introduced this technology in the 1980s. Intelligent variable timing, or I-VTEC, was introduced in 2001 to provide continuously variable timing to boost the power curve.

Valeo has developed another approach to variable valve timing: The e-valve.  

According to Valeo, the electrically driven system reduces the conventional camshaft and produces 15-20 percent improvements in fuel economy. Industry speculation is that the Fiat 500, which is due for release this year, may be the first production vehicle to incorporate this technology.

MUSI Engines LTD has announced a new engine design based on Merritt Unthrottled Spark Igntion Combustion (MUSIC). The engine is being built by Power Technologies Limited. The design utilizes an indirect combustion chamber that results in a high-efficiency, lean burn. While this design improves fuel economy up to 20 percent and reduces nitrous oxide emissions, it also results in a substantial reduction in power.

The Pitoval engine is a two-stroke solution that has been developed by MACE Engineering in New Zealand.

The engine design is based on a water-cooled pivoting cylinder. This design overcomes a number of inherent problems associated with two-stroke engines, including its demand for lubricants and poor thermal control. One advantage of this design is the potential to burn multiple fuels, such as hydrogen gas, diesel fuel, jet fuel, or gasoline.

Diesel Engines
The diesel engine has been the power plant of choice in Europe for some time, due to improved fuel economy. Diesel engines are used in over 50 percent of the automobiles produced in Europe, and are seeing renewed interest around the world as improvements in injection technologies are boosting power.

Common rail fuel injection systems are an area of intense research and development. Typical fuel injection systems utilize solenoids to control the volume of fuel that is injected. Current developments are centered on the use of piezo electric transducers. This technology has the potential to significantly reduce switching time and fuel-spray atomization. The potential benefit is a 30 percent reduction of nitrous oxide emissions, while improving low-end torque.

According to Delphi, the technology has the potential to reduce emissions, improve fuel economy, and increase power. Other manufacturers, including Bosch and Continental, are also pursuing development in this area.

Significant research is going on in the area of turbochargers. Integral Powertrain LTD is developing turbochargers that will operate over a wider range of mass airflow rates.

The concept is based on the use of vanes that manage flow through both the fuel and air inlets. The company believes that the precise flow management airflow can be increased by up to 20 percent.

Dual turbo chargers are another development. One example is the BMW Bi-Turbo. The concept combines a high-pressure and low-pressure system. This product was recently introduced on the series 535D. BMW claims the high-pressure turbocharger produces significant improvements at low RPMs. As speed increases, the lower pressure turbo charger kicks in, producing a net benefit to both fuel economy and performance.

We have tried to touch on a few of the many areas that are undergoing research in the automotive market. The bottom line is that we can expect to see significant evolution in engine design and power management over the coming years. With this evolution, there will likely be a corresponding change in the electronic controls, and a demand for new connector design. While the market may remain slow for some time to come, successful connector companies will remain focused on developments in technologies and position themselves to respond to the ever-changing demands of their customers.

This article was prepared by Bishop & Associates Inc., a market research firm for the connector industry. The company produces a monthly newsletter on the performance and forecast of the connector industry. Subscribe to this publication at www.connectorstats.com or www.bishopreport.com.