Bosch Supplying BMW, Valeo Supplying CitroënBoston, MA - 12 August 2008 - The Strategy Analytics Automotive Electronics Service report, "Stop-Start Micro Hybrid Technologies: Winners and Losers," predicts that annual growth of modified starters will reach 46 percent and belt-driven starter alternators will reach 35 percent, for 2008 - 2015. The report concludes with the types of systems which will see the greatest adoption in the future.
Stop-start systems enable fuel consumption savings and reduce harmful emissions by shutting down engines when a vehicle is stopped for traffic lights or during heavy congestion. Current systems claim to offer about 10 percent improvement. Bosch announced that it has supplied its 500,000th system to BMW, while Valeo announced that it has agreed to supply more than a million systems to PSA Peugeot-Citroën by 2011.
"Despite the onset of proposed Californian and European carbon dioxide mandates, and the new 35 mpg US federal requirement coming in 2020, OEMs were struggling to promote stop-start acceptance by consumers," says Kevin Mak, Automotive Electronics Analyst. "Recent design improvements have enabled progress toward volume production, while fleet CO2 targets have encouraged car makers to pass on these economies of scale savings to consumers, and to offer stop-start as standard, as on the BMW 1-Series."
Chris Webber, Vice President for the Automotive Practice at Strategy Analytics, added, "By offering stop-start on a wider range of models at higher volumes, OEMs are able to reduce fuel consumption and harmful emissions much faster, and at lower cost, than by deploying mild and full hybrid powertrains on niche models. These recent announcements represent a path forward for other car makers. Consumers, who are taking advantage of lower taxation charged against low emitting models or have recently been hit hard by fuel price rises, are now more aware of the value of stop-start."