Yet another global component supplier is betting big on electric mobility. MAHLE, with an annual production of 2.5 million units, is currently one of the world’s three largest manufacturers of mechatronic actuators for automotive applications.
Actuators convert electrical energy into mechanical movement. In electric vehicles, they are used to control the transmission and the air-conditioning system, for example.
MAHLE says it is successfully expanding this product group in line with e-mobility requirements and consistently driving forward the Group’s technological transformation. The company plans to increase the production of actuators to as many as six million units per year by 2025.
“MAHLE actuators are an excellent example of the successful targeted transfer of conventional product expertise from the world of combustion engines to e-mobility,” says Wilhelm Emperhoff, Member of the Management Board of the MAHLE Group with responsibility for the Electronics and Mechatronics business unit. “In this way, we’re opening up numerous new business segments.”
As a result of its experience in the mass production of actuators for turbochargers, MAHLE says it is able to supply its new assembly groups for EVs in proven high quality and on excellent terms.
One application of actuators is to lock the transmission of electric and hybrid vehicles when park mode is engaged. The newest members of the actuator family are electric expansion valves for use in the thermal management of EVs. When actuated, they open to allow a refrigerant to flow through the system and regulate the temperature of the battery or power electronics. This keeps the sensitive components in the desired temperature range and protects them from damage.