Covid19 Archives - magility

The new e-platforms: Powerful, flexible and cost-effective

by Nada Welker | Dec 1, 2021 | Market development & Trends

Electric cars are the future, and they will dominate the car market in a few years. Every year, automakers expand their product lineup, setting the stage for new generations of e-cars. Today, every vehicle manufacturer is working on e-vehicles, from established players to new names like Byton, Lordstown and Rivian. The big players are focusing primarily on newly developed platforms. These are expected to contribute to significantly more variability, performance and range compared to previous generations of e-cars. However, the newly developed electric car platforms score points primarily for their increasing flexibility and savings potential, as they can serve as a basis for different types of e-cars. This variable basis will be able to be used for vehicles from the VW Group’s own brand world as well as for vehicles from competitors – similar to the Modular Electric Building Kit (MEB) first introduced in 2016.

Global industry leaders

While COVID-19 has negatively impacted markets for combustion engine vehicles worldwide, sales of electric vehicles (xEVs) have surged, particularly in Europe.

According to Roland Berger’s E-Mobility Index 2021, China is currently the industry leader in the sector, producing the largest number of xEVs and battery cells. It is expected that the total production of BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and PHEVs (plug-in hybrid vehicles) will increase by 13 percent from 2018 to 2023 compared to the previous period of 2017 to 2022. Cumulative domestic battery cell production capacity calculated for the 2018-23 period is expected to account for more than 70 percent of global installed capacity:

China continues to strengthen its leadership role by expanding local production capacity. German OEMs are also achieving strong growth in vehicle production, but have little battery cell production capacity, ranking only third behind the United States.

Europe saw strong market growth in the 2021 E-Mobility Index, led by Germany and Italy. Both markets achieved sales growth of over 200 percent. In Germany, sales of xEVs increased from 112,000 to more than 400,000 vehicles, meaning that Germany now accounts for the second-largest market for xEVs. In terms of BEV/PHEV market share of the overall market, Germany now even takes first place.

Development of new e-vehicles on the rise – and helping the climate

The range of vehicles with electrified powertrains has increased massively in recent years. There is now a choice of xEVs in every segment. Many new or updated BEV and PHEV models were launched in 2020. In addition, OEMs had already increased their xEV production capacity in 2019 in preparation for the introduction of the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) – a uniform standard for calculating pollutant levels, CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and range – and continued to do so during the reporting period. This means they will likely be able to meet the 95g CO2/km target for average fleet emissions in 2021:

Electric base of Renault and Nissan

Renault and Nissan unveiled a new electric base last year: the CMF-EV platform. This is to be used not only across brands but also across manufacturers by alliance partner Mitsubishi. The CMF-EV platform is variable enough to serve as the basis for city vehicles, sedans, or even large SUV models that can travel long distances without stopping to charge. The Renault Mégane eVision is intended to build on the success of the Renault Zoé. With an output of 160 kW/217 hp, a battery capacity of 60 kW, and fast-charging capability, the vehicle guarantees long ranges and a versatile range of uses.

BMW’s “New Class” platforms

Inspired by the successful 1500 and 1800 models of the 1960s, BMW’s new “New Class” architecture brings forth platforms exclusively for e-cars. Scheduled to launch in 2025, the first model will be a sedan in the 3 Series format, dubbed NK1. The new architecture features redefined IT and software amenities, a newly developed electric drive and battery generation, and a whole system of lifecycle sustainability. It is said to be optimized exclusively for electric powertrains.

General Motors: New e-platform called “Ultium Drive”.

General Motors’ “Ultium Drive” multi-purpose electric underpinnings include a skateboard-like base structure with a battery made of pouch cells that sits flat and low to the ground, and drive units on the front and rear axles. Also planned are 400- and 800-volt architectures. Drivetrains consisting of five genset units will be available to represent front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles in many power levels. Because of the versatility of the new platforms, scaling effects are achievable, bringing the cost of Ultium batteries below $100 per kilowatt-hour, according to a GM forecast.

Those who prefer high performance will be well served by the roughly 1,000-horsepower new edition of the GMC Hummer EV: This one is powerful enough to reach 100 km/h from a standstill within three seconds while offering 560 kilometers of range. Thanks to 800-volt technology, recharging power for 160 kilometers is possible within ten minutes.

This most powerful version of the Hummer is already available on the market. Those who can be patient can look forward to innovations from the future Cadillac electric brand from 2022, along with other GM models: the Lyriq SUV and the Celestiq luxury sedan.

GM plans to launch more than 30 electrically powered models by 2025. So we can be curious.

Mercedes-Benz: Electric Versatility Platform

New e-platforms are also planned for the commercial vehicle sector. The Electric Versatility Platform differs significantly from the eSprinter model already available: instead of relying on front-wheel drive, the original engine compartment accommodates most of the control and charging electronics in a compact package. Instead, the drive is provided by an integrated e-axle with a central electric engine directly in the axle beam.

Would you like to learn more about topics such as e-mobility, smart grids or the Internet of Things? Get to know our colleague Jürgen Schenk – He is our top expert in the fields of electric vehicle and drive development, evaluation and design of complex systems.

We’ll keep you up to date here at magility when exciting new e-platforms appear. Follow us on LinkedIn to never miss any news.

Post-Covid Mega-Trends

by Nada Welker | Oct 22, 2020 | Future Trends

An optimistic interpretation of terms such as opportunity, economic upturn and security is something that probably only few people associate with Covid19. And yet, according to the Zukunftsinstitut, exciting and promising scenarios – so-called mega-trends – can be developed for the post-Corona period in particular.

Security Through Uncertainty

The most astonishing thing up front: the more turbulent and uncertain the events of an era are, the greater the chance of achieving personal security. Because security “as the absence of an existential danger” is based, especially in Western countries, on a feeling that can be created by people themselves. Thus, security changes from a passive state to an active process. And this new perspective is important, because globalization and digitalization are breaking up old familiar patterns that previously provided an apparent sense of security. Whereas in the past, people used to have a job that they filled until retirement age and which allowed them to firmly establish themselves in a community with their home and family, many people are now confronted with changing employers and the home office more quickly than most forecasts predicted. The topic of fake news also makes people deeply insecure and requires a greater intellectual effort to filter out halfway objective information from as many trustworthy sources as possible and to put together their personal world view from this information. From a neutral point of view, change is more constant than stagnation and leads to further development and progress. Re-orientation is the order of the day and setting up in a world whose individual reality can be created anew by each individual on a daily basis.

Trendsetter Ü50 – Pioneers of Individual Self-Realisation

One of the greatest opportunities for progress and economic and monetary potential lies with the “old”, of all people, who are no longer old in the traditional sense. Many members of the so-called Silver Society, who used to move from the working world to retirement at the age of around 65, no longer even think about retirement. On the contrary: Due to the increasing age expectation with good physical condition, they are faced with the question: Where to go with all that energy? They answer this question in advance, for example, with professional reorientation, the leap into self-employment or further training and hobbies still at over 100.

Economic Growth Through Digital Natives and Creative Economy?

The pioneers are followed by a generation that already includes the first digital natives, people of the generation that grew up in the “digital world”. They will benefit from the fact that many companies have been forced to digitalize or expand their business due to the Covid19 virus. According to the Zukunftsinstitut, increasing digitalization and automation is accompanied by “an epochal upheaval” in the world of work. The ever more frequently asked question about the meaning of gainful employment is therefore leading to a departure from a purely rational economy of performance towards the development of the individual’s potential. And nowhere is this better expressed than in the so-called creative economy. It is made up of people who are also artistically creative in the broadest sense, such as authors, architects, designers, musicians or even developers of computer games, and since the end of the 1980s has been developing into one of the most dynamic branches of the global economy. According to the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWI), creative artists made a larger contribution to the overall economic performance in Germany in 2018 (100.5 billion euros) than the chemical industry, energy suppliers or financial service providers. This promising sector of the economy is mainly made up of freelancers and small and micro-entrepreneurs.

Hygge as a building block for perceived safety

During the lockdown, most people were banished to their own homes for longer than many of them would like. Suddenly, furniture, furnishings and quality of living became the focus of attention. For many people, the question of their own identity is linked to the personal interior. At a time when millions of people are traveling around the globe in search of security, freedom and quality of life, leaving their homes behind, a home takes on a whole new quality and meaning. For many people it is becoming increasingly important whether they spend their free time in an environment that is individually perceived as aesthetic, the furnishings of which also fulfill the aspect of sustainability as far as possible and thus help to preserve natural resources.

It is not only at home that the demand for a pleasant and sustainable environment is increasing; expectations of the working environment are also rising. Trends such as New Work are being further accelerated by Covid19 and the effects of related measures. This is because the abolition of the strict separation between workplace and private sphere through the relaxation of home office regulations and the increased use of digital technologies, which enable communication in a team and with customers from any location, is further increasing the needs of employees for the working environment. Not only employers, but also urban planners and the entire construction industry will have to respond to these trends, which have been rapidly accelerated by Covid19, now. New business models are emerging and developments that were at a snail’s pace in Germany before Covid19 are now gaining momentum.

Corona as an Accelerator of Mega-Trends

Covid19, apart from all the negative sides, also has a promising flip side and will become an accelerator of the mega-trends of the future. We at magility will be happy to support you in the development of new business models and we evaluate these mega-trends and innovative technologies for you, which can become an accelerator of your economic power.