But Deployment Will Be Long Term, With Annual Demand
Reaching Up To 2.7M Units By 2020
Boston, MA - June 23, 2014 – A group of German auto makers had earlier
agreed to develop a standard for 48V architectures to support efforts in
raising fuel economy and lowering harmful emissions at the 2011
Automobil Elektronik Kongress in Ludwigsburg, Germany.
Changing circumstances since then have confirmed that 48V deployments
will begin next year, as mentioned in the recent Strategy Analytics
report, 48 Volt Architectures: Not A Question Of 'If', But Of 'How' and
'When'.
Click here for the report: http://bit.ly/1rpQL8A
New, more stringent
mandates have been legislated or are being proposed, such as the new
CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) level set in the United States at
54.5 mpg by 2025 and the European Union’s aim to lower
carbon dioxide emissions to a level at 68-78 g/km by 2025.
Furthermore, a new test procedure (WLTP (Worldwide-harmonized
Light-vehicles Test Procedure) will soon replace existing less realistic
and less stringent test cycles.
The growing threat of
tougher mandate requirements, allied with recent developments aimed at
making mild hybridized powertrains to be more cost effective and more
desirable to consumers, have resulted in a widening
of interest for 48V architectures – not just globally, but also
extending to the high volume, compact model segments. More power can be
recuperated when braking with a 48V mild hybrid powertrain than from an
existing 12V stop-start system.
Kevin Mak, Senior
Analyst in the Automotive Electronics Service (AES) at Strategy
Analytics, said, “With Audi and BMW announcing their deployments of 48V
architectures for next year, the concept has now become
a reality. But the delays to its deployment, as well as continuing
advancements in combustion engine technologies, have meant that 48V
demand will still remain a long-term proposition.” Mak added, “Demand
will reach 1.2 million units by 2020, but should
other auto makers adopt 48 volts, demand could grow further to 2.7
million units.”