Eaton is bullish on e-mobility

Eaton, the New York Stock Exchange listed intelligent power management company expects its e-mobility business to become the new DNA going forward while co-existing with its current vehicle business. 

Shailendra Shukla, Managing Director, Vehicle Group, Eaton India told Autocar Professional that e-mobility is being treated with separate focus at product and other levels by virtue of the apparent shift in demand towards it. "We are treating it separately and it is our intention to make it big," said Shukla, who took charge of the vehicle division in the company at the beginning of 2021. 

In his view, this is a no-brainer as organisations playing in the automotive segment are already transitioning towards the greater focus on EV, and Eaton is no exception. "However, due to our global presence, while we are evolving, we also have significant business in Europe, China and North America". "We don't lose our standing in the current business and are looking to grow in the EV business," Shukla noted. 

Eaton’s Vehicle group in India is represented through its plants in Ranjangaon and Ahmednagar, supplying medium- and heavy-duty truck transmission and components for the Indian and export markets. On other hand, its electrical business in India is geared up to provide power distribution, power quality, back-up, control and automation, power monitoring and management solutions, and services to commercial, residential, utility, alternative energy, IT, and data centres, public sector institutions, and OEMs amongst others.

Globally, the company has a wider spectrum of products including transmissions and transmission components, clutches, hybrid power systems, superchargers, engine valves and valve actuation systems, locking and limited slip differentials, transmission controls, and fuel vapour components which is supplied to OEMs and aftermarket customers of heavy, medium, and light-duty trucks, SUVs, crossover utility vehicles (CUV)s, passenger cars and agricultural equipment.  "So our vehicle business continues to significantly grow globally and in India," Shukla said.

Notably Eaton, similar to many of its peers, used the pandemic to future-proof itself by introspecting on its strengths and weaknesses from the context of emerging trends including the e-mobility segment.  For instance, in January this year, the company acquired the US-based Royal Power Solution for $600 million, which is a manufacturer of high-precision electrical connectivity components used in electric vehicle, energy management, industrial and mobility markets.

Likewise, in March 2021, it acquired Green Motion SA, a leading designer and manufacturer of electric vehicle charging hardware and related software based in Switzerland. Green Motion SA was acquired for $106 million, including $49 million of cash paid at closing and $57 million of estimated fair value of contingent future consideration based on 2023 and 2024 revenue performance. The fair value of contingent consideration liabilities is estimated by discounting contingent payments expected to be made, and may increase or decrease based on changes in revenue estimates and discount rates, with a maximum possible undiscounted value of $109 million.