面對(duì)即將到來的市場(chǎng)變化,同時(shí)涉足電動(dòng)和內(nèi)燃機(jī)車的一級(jí)供應(yīng)商表示已做好充分準(zhǔn)備。
從化石燃料向電氣化轉(zhuǎn)型的過程本就充滿變數(shù),而這種不確定性還將繼續(xù)增加。就在共和黨入主白宮的局勢(shì)明朗后僅僅數(shù)日,標(biāo)普全球汽車(S&P Global Mobility)的汽車業(yè)分析師就預(yù)測(cè):“政府將大幅削減對(duì)快速向零排放汽車轉(zhuǎn)型的支持。”
2024年第三季度,汽車制造商在美國售出了超過34.6萬輛純電動(dòng)車,占汽車總銷售量的8.9%,創(chuàng)下了純電動(dòng)車市場(chǎng)份額的歷史新高。因此,考克斯汽車(Cox Automotive)預(yù)測(cè)“市場(chǎng)份額達(dá)到10%指日可待”。
然而,這些數(shù)據(jù)需要放在特定背景下理解。盡管電動(dòng)車的銷量有所增長,但實(shí)際增速并不如分析師此前預(yù)測(cè)的樂觀。去年8月,J.D. Power將2024年電動(dòng)車推廣應(yīng)用水平的預(yù)測(cè)從12%下調(diào)至9%,并指出插電式混動(dòng)車型的銷量增加是其下調(diào)預(yù)測(cè)的一個(gè)原因。這種趨勢(shì)不僅對(duì)OEM構(gòu)成了挑戰(zhàn),也迫使一級(jí)供應(yīng)商為未來格局的變化做好準(zhǔn)備。
博世北美公司動(dòng)力總成解決方案業(yè)務(wù)總裁 Peter Tadros(博世)
博世北美公司動(dòng)力總成解決方案業(yè)務(wù)總裁Peter Tadros在接受SAE采訪時(shí)著重介紹了公司在電氣化領(lǐng)域的調(diào)整。Tadros表示:“目前形勢(shì)發(fā)生了變化。其中最深刻的變化是關(guān)于我們兩年前做的一項(xiàng)預(yù)測(cè)——到2030年純電動(dòng)車的市場(chǎng)份額至少達(dá)到50%,而如今這一預(yù)測(cè)已站不住腳。至于這種變化是否由政治因素所致,尚且存在爭議。但歸根結(jié)底,消費(fèi)者已經(jīng)做出了選擇,并認(rèn)為純電動(dòng)車不適用于所有應(yīng)用場(chǎng)景。目前純電動(dòng)車的市場(chǎng)占有率約為8-10%,未來這一比例或?qū)⑦M(jìn)一步調(diào)整。”
采埃孚北美公司總裁Ramiro Gutierrez提出了類似的看法。他在接受SAE采訪時(shí)表示:“甚至早在新政府上臺(tái)之前,我們就已預(yù)見到電動(dòng)車的推廣速度已不及最初的預(yù)期。”
J.D. Power的研究發(fā)現(xiàn),盡管消費(fèi)者對(duì)純電動(dòng)車的關(guān)注度仍然較高,但實(shí)際購買意愿正在下降。2024年5月,J.D. Power汽車數(shù)據(jù)和分析公司報(bào)告稱,在接受調(diào)查的北美購車者中,表示“非常有可能”購買電動(dòng)車的比例僅剩24%,低于去年的26%。
未來幾年,預(yù)計(jì)美國電動(dòng)車的銷量增長將進(jìn)一步降低。標(biāo)普分析師Stephanie Brinley表示:“首先,我們將下調(diào)對(duì)美國新能源輕型汽車銷量中純電動(dòng)車市場(chǎng)份額的預(yù)期,并調(diào)整對(duì)其他電氣化汽車的預(yù)期。雖然我們還無法確定具體的下調(diào)幅度,但我們的確觀察到純電動(dòng)車的銷售預(yù)期正急劇下滑。”
采埃孚正在為電動(dòng)車進(jìn)一步減產(chǎn)的趨勢(shì)制定規(guī)劃。Gutierrez 表示:“新政府似乎正準(zhǔn)備取消促進(jìn)電動(dòng)車產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展的部分監(jiān)管政策。我認(rèn)為,原本就十分緩慢的純電動(dòng)車推廣速度預(yù)計(jì)會(huì)進(jìn)一步放緩。同時(shí),市場(chǎng)上將出現(xiàn)一系列過渡性技術(shù),并在較長的時(shí)間內(nèi)填補(bǔ)技術(shù)空白,且其重要性將超過最初的預(yù)期。”
能夠填補(bǔ)傳統(tǒng)內(nèi)燃機(jī)汽車和純電動(dòng)車之間空白的過渡性技術(shù)種類繁多,包括配備小型電池組的輕混合動(dòng)力汽車,以及單次充電即可滿足日常通勤需求的插電式混合動(dòng)力系統(tǒng)。插電式混合動(dòng)力汽車(PHEV)和增程式汽車(EREV)有助于汽車制造商滿足嚴(yán)格的排放法規(guī),甚至在很大程度上消除了消費(fèi)者對(duì)電動(dòng)車?yán)m(xù)航里程不足的擔(dān)憂。
Tadros表示:“現(xiàn)在我們終于可以開始探討混合動(dòng)力汽車,以及該技術(shù)如何成為美國消費(fèi)者能夠接受的解決方案。目前混合動(dòng)力汽車的市場(chǎng)占有率約為12%,實(shí)際上高于目前純電動(dòng)車的占有率。鑒于此,博世認(rèn)為混合動(dòng)力汽車能夠引導(dǎo)消費(fèi)者逐漸適應(yīng)電氣化時(shí)代。因此,我認(rèn)為在近期到中期,混合動(dòng)力汽車和純電動(dòng)車的市場(chǎng)份額預(yù)測(cè)將會(huì)發(fā)生變化。”
Tadros強(qiáng)調(diào),排放法規(guī)不太可能像消費(fèi)者的購買習(xí)慣那樣在短期內(nèi)發(fā)生變化。他表示:“當(dāng)我們?cè)谔接懯袌?chǎng)變化時(shí),汽車技術(shù)仍須滿足法規(guī)以及排放要求。因此,無論是插電式還是增程式混合動(dòng)力解決方案,都能滿足現(xiàn)行的法規(guī)要求,并獲得消費(fèi)者的認(rèn)可。這一點(diǎn)可以在OEM的實(shí)際行動(dòng)中得到驗(yàn)證。他們目前正在轉(zhuǎn)換平臺(tái),以生產(chǎn)更多混合動(dòng)力車型。”
采埃孚的Gutierrez也同樣預(yù)見了多種混合動(dòng)力技術(shù)未來的發(fā)展方向。他表示:“目前市場(chǎng)上的插電式混合動(dòng)力汽車一般具有50英里的電動(dòng)續(xù)航里程,我們認(rèn)為該數(shù)值未來將進(jìn)一步提升至100英里左右。”Guiterrez認(rèn)為,增程式混合動(dòng)力汽車可使用發(fā)電機(jī)供電,其電池組容量遠(yuǎn)小于純電動(dòng)車,是混合動(dòng)力技術(shù)的另一潛在發(fā)展方向。他表示:“憑借該發(fā)電機(jī),電動(dòng)車的續(xù)航里程將從目前的300英里增加至700英里。”
新車的主要考慮因素。博世的Tadros指出:“許多研究顯示,消費(fèi)者最關(guān)心的問題還是購車成本。”電池在純電動(dòng)車成本中的占比最大,但由于混合動(dòng)力汽車使用的電池組較小,其降低成本的潛力非常可觀。Guiterrez said表示:“這些技術(shù)必須做到經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)惠。只有確保其成本效益,才能從根本上推動(dòng)市場(chǎng)從內(nèi)燃機(jī)時(shí)代向電氣化時(shí)代全面轉(zhuǎn)型。”標(biāo)普在美國大選后的預(yù)測(cè)報(bào)告中表示:“純電動(dòng)車市場(chǎng)份額下降意味著,其生產(chǎn)成本和電池成本將會(huì)更高,溢價(jià)將會(huì)降低。最新預(yù)測(cè)顯示,不僅混合動(dòng)力車和插電式混合動(dòng)力車解決方案的市場(chǎng)普及率可能會(huì)提高,增程式電動(dòng)汽車解決方案的普及率也可能會(huì)提高。預(yù)計(jì)這些汽車的成本將會(huì)比純電動(dòng)車低,價(jià)格也將會(huì)更具吸引力。”
盡管電動(dòng)車推廣速度放緩,但并非所有供應(yīng)商都毫無準(zhǔn)備。Tadros表示:“博世在動(dòng)力總成方面的戰(zhàn)略尚未調(diào)整。我們始終秉承技術(shù)中立的原則。我們的職責(zé)是與客戶緊密合作,深入了解消費(fèi)者的需求,并據(jù)此提供相應(yīng)的技術(shù)解決方案,包括內(nèi)燃機(jī)、插電式混合動(dòng)力、輕混或中混等任何可能的解決方案。”
然而,動(dòng)力總成銷售結(jié)構(gòu)的轉(zhuǎn)變并非易事。Guitterez表示:“從內(nèi)燃機(jī)向電氣化動(dòng)力總成轉(zhuǎn)型的代價(jià)顯然十分高昂,必須投入巨額資金。我們12年前在南卡羅來納州格雷考特工廠進(jìn)行了長期的投資和發(fā)展,不斷為客戶提供滿足其內(nèi)燃機(jī)需求的變速箱。而在過去兩三年里,我們已經(jīng)開始進(jìn)行新投資,用于生產(chǎn)滿足客戶需求的電動(dòng)機(jī)。”
采埃孚目前正在為Jeep Wrangler 4xe等產(chǎn)品打造一款8速插電式混合動(dòng)力汽車的自動(dòng)變速器。最新款8HP變速器中集成的電動(dòng)機(jī)的輸出扭矩接近上代產(chǎn)品的兩倍。采埃孚還稱,與采用傳統(tǒng)內(nèi)燃機(jī)動(dòng)力總成的版本相比,采用第四代8HP變速器的插電式混合動(dòng)力汽車可減少70%的二氧化碳排放。最新款變速器計(jì)劃于2025年在采埃孚的格雷考特工廠投產(chǎn)。
Guitterez表示:“由于電動(dòng)車的推廣速度放緩,我們預(yù)見電動(dòng)車的投資回報(bào)期將大幅推遲,從而對(duì)公司的財(cái)務(wù)造成不利影響。如果電動(dòng)車的需求降低,企業(yè)至少還能夠靈活利用其內(nèi)燃機(jī)產(chǎn)品的產(chǎn)能來滿足市場(chǎng)需求,同時(shí)提高已投入資本的利用效率。采埃孚位于南卡羅來納州的工廠具有靈活適應(yīng)市場(chǎng)的能力,能夠生產(chǎn)內(nèi)燃機(jī)車、插電式混合動(dòng)力汽車和電動(dòng)汽車所需的產(chǎn)品。”
標(biāo)普預(yù)計(jì),“隨著特朗普上臺(tái),政府將大幅削減對(duì)快速向零排放汽車轉(zhuǎn)型的支持。”但也指出,“由于新政府將持續(xù)支持美國制造業(yè),部分激勵(lì)措施或可得到保留。”
雖然博世和采埃孚在適應(yīng)市場(chǎng)變化和調(diào)整市場(chǎng)定位方面均已制定了清晰的規(guī)劃,但隨著戰(zhàn)略重心從電氣化向更多元化的動(dòng)力總成技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)型,部分供應(yīng)商將面臨更嚴(yán)峻的挑戰(zhàn)。
Guitterez表示:“有些公司由于將大量資金投入電動(dòng)車領(lǐng)域,導(dǎo)致其缺乏靈活應(yīng)對(duì)市場(chǎng)的能力,或者無法開發(fā)出完整的產(chǎn)品線。因?yàn)橥度肓司揞~資金但產(chǎn)量上不去,這些公司將陷入窘境,如果缺乏替代產(chǎn)品支持運(yùn)營,公司將要承擔(dān)高額的銀行貸款利息,壓力巨大。”
The already unsteady transition from fossil fuels to electrification is about to get bumpier. Just days after it became clear that Americans would be welcoming a new Republican White House administration, automotive industry analysts at S&P Global Mobility predicted that “the support for a speedy transition to zero-emissions vehicles will be drastically reduced.”
In the third quarter of 2024, automakers sold more than 346,000 battery electric vehicles in the United States, equal to 8.9% of total automobile sales. That’s the highest percentage of market share on record, leading Cox Automotive to forecast that “a 10% share is well within reach.”
Those numbers need context. Even as EV sales rise, they are not keeping up with the lofty expectations that analysts had earlier projected. In August of this year, J.D. Power revised its EV adoption forecast downward from 12% to 9% for 2024, pointing to a rise in plug-in hybrid sales as one reason for the shift. In addition to presenting challenges to OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers are also preparing for a changing future landscape.
Peter Tadros, Bosch North America’s president for powertrain solutions, emphasized the electrification shift in an interview with SAE Media. “Things have changed,” Tadros said. “The most meaningful change is going to be in the prediction we made two years ago of at least 50% BEV by 2030. Whether that is because of the political changes or not can be debated. But at the end of the day, the consumer spoke and decided that battery electric vehicles are not for every use case. There will be a change from today where we’re at about 8-10% of BEV take rate.”
Ramiro Gutierrez, president of ZF North America, suggested a similar outlook. “Even before the new administration takes office, we’ve already seen that the adoption of electric vehicles has been slower than originally anticipated,” Gutierrez told SAE Media.
J.D. Power found that overall interest in BEVs, while still strong, is declining. In May, the automotive data and analytics company reported that 24% of shoppers who responded to a survey said they are “very likely” to consider purchasing an EV. That number is down from 26% the prior year.
The EV sales expansion in the U.S. is expected to shift even further downward in the coming years. “First and foremost, there will be a reduction in our expectations for battery electric vehicle share of U.S. new light-vehicle sales and changes in electrification mix,” S&P analyst Stephanie Brinley said, “At this point, we are not ready to define how large the reduction will be, but we are looking at sharp declines in BEV sales expectations.”
A further reduction in EV production is an eventuality ZF is planning for. “The new administration’s agenda seems to be drawing back some of the regulatory elements of the equation,” Gutierrez said. “I think our expectation is that the already slow adoption is going to be even slower and there’s going to be a set of bridge technologies that are going to stay there longer and are going to be more significant than originally expected.”
Technologies that can bridge the gap between traditional ICE and full EVs include everything from mild hybrids with tiny battery packs to plug-in hybrid powertrains that can travel a typical day’s worth of driving on a single charge. PHEV and extended-range electric powertrains help automakers meet stringent emissions regulations and go a long way toward allaying consumer fears of insufficient EV range.
“Now we can start talking about hybrids and how that could be an acceptable solution to our consumers here in the region,” Tadros said. “Hybrids have about a 12% take rate right now, so higher actually than BEV today. And Bosch, from that standpoint, thinks it is a technology that eases the consumer into the electrification age. So this is really where I see the mix and prediction changing in the near to mid-term.”
Tadros emphasized that emissions regulations aren’t likely to shift as quickly as consumer buying habits. “I think when we’re talking about a shift, you still have to meet regulations, you still have emissions requirements,” he said. “So a hybrid solution – whether it’s a plug-in hybrid or extended-range – could satisfy those regulations that we are still under but get consumer acceptance. And we see that in the behavior of the OEMs. They are switching over their platforms to have more offerings for hybrids.”
ZF’s Gutierrez also sees multiple hybrid paths in the future. “A plug-in hybrid today on the market has a range of, let's say, 50 miles of electric driving. We're going to see that being further optimized. So extending that probably closer to 100 miles.” Range-extended hybrids that use a generator to power a battery pack that’s significantly smaller than what’s required for a BEV are another likely avenue forward, said Guiterrez. “What we're going to see is that electric vehicles that are maybe in the range of 300 miles are going to be extended to deliver 700 miles with the help of that generator.”
Cost will remain a major concern for Americans shopping for a new vehicle in the coming years. Bosch’s Tadros said. “The number one concern from the consumer in many studies is the cost of the vehicle.” Batteries make up the largest percentage of the cost of a BEV, and because hybrid vehicles use smaller battery packs, the potential for cost savings is sizable. “Those technologies need to be affordable. They need to be cost effective to basically bridge the market situation from 100% combustion into 100% electrical,” Guiterrez said.“Lower BEV sales share means that more vehicles will be sold without the necessary premium that BEVs require, based on cost to produce and battery cost,” S&P wrote in its post-election forecast. “Though the new forecast will likely see higher penetration of hybrid and PHEV solutions – and possibly a higher mix of extended-range electric vehicle solutions – these are expected to be less costly vehicles than BEVs and lead to improvements in vehicle affordability.”
The slow burn of EV adoption means that not all suppliers have been caught completely off guard. “From a Bosch powertrain perspective, our strategy has not changed,” Tadros said. “We are technology neutral. Our job is to really work with our customers and understand what the consumer wants and offer these solutions regardless of the technology, whether it's an ICE, whether it's plug-in hybrid, whether it's mild, strong, whatever type of hybrid.”
Still, a major shift in the powertrain sales mix isn’t without its challenges. “Obviously, the change from combustion engines into electrified powertrains is very expensive, right? You need to deploy a very significant amount of capital,” Guitterez said. “We've been doing that in our facility in North America, in Gray Court, South Carolina, which we installed 12 years ago. Over time, we've been supplying transmissions for our customers for combustion engines. In the last two or three years, we have started to invest new capital to be able to produce electrical motors that have been following demand from our customers.”
ZF currently builds an 8-speed PHEV automatic transmission used in products like the Jeep Wrangler 4xe. The latest version of the 8HP has almost double the torque output of the electric motors integrated into the transmission as the previous unit. ZF further claims a PHEV using the fourth-generation 8HP could produce 70% less carbon dioxide than a version using a conventional internal combustion powertrain. This unit is scheduled to go into production at ZF’s Gray Court facility in 2025.
With the slower adoption, what we're going to see is that basically the return on our capital is going to come way later. So it's a financial drag,” Guitterez said. “If there are fewer electrical vehicles, at least you have the flexibility with the capacity that you have installing combustion engine products to be able to deliver to that demand and get, let's say, extra life on that capital that was already deployed. We have the flexibility in our South Carolina plant to basically deliver ICE vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and electric vehicles.”
S&P anticipates “under President-elect Trump, the support for a speedy transition to zero-emissions vehicles will be drastically reduced,” but adds that “continued support for U.S. manufacturing may be a driver to protect some of that incentive.”
While Bosch and ZF see a clear path forward in their ability to adapt to changing market positions, some suppliers will face larger hurdles as they switch gears from a heavy focus on electrification to a more diverse set of powertrain technologies.
“There are going to be companies that are not that flexible or they don't have the full range of products that have deployed a lot of capital for electric vehicles.” Guitterez said. “And those companies are going to be in real trouble because you have a lot of money invested, volumes are not going to be in place. You don't have a substitute product, and then you're going to struggle with paying that capital to the banks at a very high interest rate.”