A few days ago, around 70 engineers moved into MAHLE’s brand-new Electronics and Mechatronics Development Center in the city of Changshu in China. They will be focusing on developing solutions for alternative drives and further expanding the company’s systems expertise in electric powertrains as well as electronics and mechatronics. Further activities will include charging solutions for electric vehicles as well as thermal management applications for alternative drives. Due to the pandemic the grand opening of the new Tech Center is slated to take place in the second half of the year. The new site in Changshu will play a key role as a further innovation hub for the Group’s activities in the fields of alternative drives, alongside MAHLE’s major technology centers for electronics and mechatronics in Kornwestheim (Germany), Šempeter pri Gorici (Sovenia) and Valencia (Spain).
“China has become a major market for MAHLE. We want to grow further here and see great potential in e-mobility, which is clearly gaining momentum in China. We therefore aim to strengthen our role as a technology partner in this region,” said Michael Frick, CEO of MAHLE (ad interim) and CFO. “Our new R&D center in Changshu is the latest step in implementing this strategy.”
MAHLE founded its new Electronics and Mechatronics business unit at the beginning of 2020 in order to bundle its activities in this key field of the future. The technology group expects sales growth in this segment to be well into double digits in the next decade.
“With our new R&D center in Changshu, we will be able to focus our extensive development expertise even more specifically on the Chinese market for the benefit of our customers,” said Wilhelm Emperhoff, member of the MAHLE Management Board responsible for the Electronics and Mechatronics business unit.
MAHLE’s diversified electronics and mechatronics product portfolio in the automotive sector includes numerous product solutions, such as electric drives, actuators, auxiliary units as well as control and power electronics. MAHLE has been successfully established on the market with high-voltage traction motors as well as on-board chargers and DC/DC converters for passenger cars since 2019 and has since grown strongly in this segment. In recent months, MAHLE also has been setting new benchmarks in the e-bike segment, for example with systems for gravel and city bikes. Moreover, in 2019, MAHLE entered the burgeoning Indian market for e-scooter drive systems.C
