The electronicization of auto parts will become the trend of Japanese cars

China Economic Weekly-Economic Net News (Chen Yan, special author) The 2015 Shanghai Auto Show was held at the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center from April 22 to April 29. The author looks at the Japanese auto parts displayed at the Shanghai Auto Show , Increasing the comfort and safety of automobiles through electronics is an important development direction. After digitization, auto parts are no longer a single part, but more of a module. The production of this kind of module requires enterprises to have higher integration technology, which cannot be simply imitated. After the electronic parts and components, the profitability of Japanese companies and the further upgrading of the Japanese automobile industry are fully guaranteed.

　　 After entering the 21st century, the automobile industry began to undergo great changes. Auto parts companies have begun to pursue comfort and safety in product design, and in the use of energy, they have begun to gradually get rid of the restrictions of gasoline and diesel and shift to electrification. Among Japanese cars, Toyota's annual output is around 10 million units. By the end of March 2015, in the 2014 fiscal year, Toyota had total sales of nearly 26 trillion yen (about 1.3 trillion yuan) and a profit of 2.7 trillion yen (about 140 billion yuan). Toyota's production, sales and profit margins are unique among auto companies in the world, which is inseparable from the technological production capacity of the Japanese auto parts manufacturing industry.

　　Electronics pay more attention to car safety

"In the use of electric motors in automobiles, there will be a lot of room for development in the future. When the use of electricity increases, it also brings new demands for batteries." During the Shanghai Auto Show, Hitachi Automotive Systems (China) Co., Ltd. researched Satoru Watanabe, the general manager of the Development Management Center, told the author.

　　From the perspective of the entire auto show, the electronicization of parts and components should be an important direction for future development.

　　Car navigation and audio are visible car electronics. On the booth of Hitachi Automotive Systems, there was an orange-red prototype car. Sitting in this car and closing the door, it immediately isolated all kinds of radio music from time to time during the exhibition. Listening to a piece of violin music makes people feel like this This is the music hall. Modern cars can satisfy people's requirements in terms of sound.

　　The combination of navigation and the Internet is an indisputable result. Navigation is no longer just indicating the direction of the destination to go, but will also display the road conditions on the screen in time, bypass the congested road in time, and take a fast and efficient road to the destination. Through the voice service, people can focus on the road conditions in front of them without looking at the navigator.

　　 However, automotive electronics is no longer at this level. If the above content emphasizes the comfort of the car, then from the Shanghai Auto Show, we can see more of the role of electronics in car safety.

　　 The reporter experienced the feeling of a race car driver at the Hitachi Automotive Systems booth. The racer compares speed and response under harsh conditions. Sharp turns and obstacle avoidance are essential driving skills. Without the use of Hitachi's integrated vehicle control system, the car driven by the reporter ran off the track without going too far, and it collided with other vehicles. But after using this system, the vehicle can still drive on the runway stably under acceleration. Xie Jun, senior manager of Hitachi Research and Development Center, told the author: “Hitachi’s vehicle integrated control system has a smart cockpit HMI, a stereo camera, and an external environment sensing sensor, so that the information in the front and rear of the car and its surroundings can be processed in time. This An integrated control system can provide the function of assisting driving. At the same speed, there will be much less action to deal with dangerous situations."

　　 "The driving assistance system should be the initial stage of autonomous driving." Watanabe Center Manager told reporters. Hitachi Automotive Systems uses sensors to sense the external environment to avoid cars running off the road as much as possible. The sensors can also make timely judgments on pedestrians and obstacles to prevent accidents. With these, autonomous driving will have a basis for realization.

　　 Another Japanese electronics company, Matsushita Electric, has also put a lot of effort into car safety. At the Shanghai Auto Show, Panasonic is strongly recommending the company's omni-directional cameras, vehicle approach warning devices, intelligent entry systems, and so on. In terms of car comfort, Panasonic installed a nano-water ion generator, multi-function car audio, mobile navigation equipment, and rear seat entertainment system in a prototype car, allowing visitors to experience the concept of car comfort.

　　 parts upgrade to a system

　　In recent years, the development of hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles has allowed electronic component manufacturers to see new opportunities in the automotive field.

　　At the Hitachi Automotive Systems booth, you can see inverters, engine current commutators, motors for driving regeneration, and so on. As for the various generators, coaxial deceleration starters, starter generators, etc. used in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles, it is hard to imagine that these are also parts loaded in cars.

　　The increase in electricity consumption has made the role of batteries in cars more and more important. Satoru Watanabe took reporters to see the lithium-ion batteries used in Hitachi Automotive Systems, the lithium-ion batteries used in hybrid vehicles, and the lithium-ion batteries used in plug-in hybrid vehicles. It is unimaginable that a battery module the same size as a laptop can drive a car weighing a ton with a few.

　　 "The batteries for Tesla's electric cars in the United States are produced by Panasonic." A related person from the company told the author at the Panasonic booth.

　　Due to limited petroleum resources, vehicles carrying personnel and goods will eventually go to a new stage beyond gasoline and diesel. Hydrogen energy is a more promising clean energy, but in terms of simplicity and practicality, using electricity couldn't be easier. The technical competition among Japanese manufacturers on batteries is not only on mobile phones, computers and other digital appliances, but also fierce competition in the automotive field.

　　 The modular production of parts is another highlight of this auto show. In the past, I looked at the auto show parts, it was one real part after another, but now from the name, Hitachi Automotive Systems, in addition to the above-mentioned “vehicle integrated control system”, also has “high-efficiency ICE engine system” and “electric Powertrain system" and so on. Manufacturers are no longer providing certain parts, but by providing a set of systems to provide full support for certain aspects of automobile companies, so that the standardization of auto parts will become a trend in the future. Companies like Hitachi and Matsushita Electric with years of experience in the production of electronic components have new advantages in the new stage of product competition.

"In 2015, our sales in vehicles were 1.3 trillion yen (approximately 65 billion yuan), and by 2018 it will rise to 2.1 trillion yen (approximately 105 billion yuan)." Matsushita Electric China Northeast Asia General Manager Ren Daze handsome told the author. The Hitachi Group also attaches great importance to the auto parts business, and the important position of the auto-related business with Hitachi Automotive Systems as the mainstay in the Hitachi Group is constantly increasing.

As comprehensive electromechanical manufacturers attach importance to automotive electronic components, the research and development in this field is accelerating, modularized and systemized, making the automotive industry more and more dependent on component manufacturers, and companies with unique technologies in certain aspects , It has more development opportunities.