BorgWarner’s India Propulsion Engineering Centre (IPEC) is not only aiding the company’s global growth in the traditional component space but also for future technologies.
Chandrasekar Krishnamurthy, Global Engineering Director, Systems, Software and Engineering Excellence, BorgWarner Inc, said that IPEC has its hand in almost everything the company does as the centre supports all the programmes with multiple products. In addition, it also aids the company in achieving its target of 45% of its revenues through electrification, he added.
The 2,460-square-meter technical centre in the Kundalahalli suburb of Bangalore is primarily responsible for software engineering. The centre also looks at the development of systems engineering, electronics hardware development, mechanical engineering, CAD and CAM design and testing.
Going forward, the centre will also include a high-voltage lab, which will operate from Q2CY24. Currently, the lab's infrastructure is being set up, and the idea is to get everything commissioned by Q12024, the global engineering director added.
The key products under the IPEC currently are traction inverters, integrated drive modules and battery management systems, drive train controllers for all-wheel drive systems, and onboard chargers DC-DC converters (hardware and software).
While the IPEC is now focused on product development rather than manufacturing, the company is developing a future strategy as the country evolves. “With competencies already in place, we are building a strong foundation for the future,” the global engineering director said.
With respect to capability, software has traditionally been one of the core competencies India has been building, and that's one of the strong points. But not only software, the company is also getting very good talent for electronics hardware development and overall systems engineering, he added.
Inaugurated in December’22, the IPEC started with 250 employees and has since grown to 450. Krishnamurthy indicated the goal is to have 500 people by the end of December 2023.
Interestingly, the Indian technical centre is the 16th such centre for the company across the globe. Explaining the rationale behind putting up its technical centre in India, where the company’s customer base is still low, he stated that the value proposition that India puts up is immense.
While cost competitiveness was one of the key reasons behind the IPEC, the talent pool in India was another major reason behind the move by BorgWarner. “Not only the level of education but also the analytical mindset that the Indian students put to the table made India a key consideration for the technical centre,” he stated.
Assessing Opportunities For India Market
BorgWarner had spun off its fuel systems division into a separate company called Phinia, which means that only the e-mobility division is being looked after by BorgWarner.
Krishnamurthy believes that while India is still nascent in e-mobility, the recent growth in the space gives the company immense confidence in investing in the Indian market.
While stating that the market is growing faster and that adoption is happening as a result of multiple new models being introduced on both the private and commercial vehicle sides, he stated, 'looking at the current trend there's a higher probability that by 2030 EVs will occupy a significant share in the market.'
While the opportunities are huge, Krishnamurthy believes that careful strategising is required to cater to the market as the market strongly focuses on building a product for the masses.
He explained that while globally, people talk about reaching from a standstill to a 100 kmph in three to four seconds, the same sprint takes around ten seconds in India. This would mean that the ‘right level of engineering’ is required for the products so that the cost also stays relevant. “That's what we are focusing on, learning how the vehicles are being configured here,” he added.
The global engineering director believes there will be a cross-pollination of trends between the Indian and global markets when it comes to EVs. He added that while global players like Hyundai and Suzuki want to sell their products in India, these OEMs are not producing India-centric EVs but taking their global model and homologating for the Indian conditions.
While BorgWarner currently supplies to many of the global OEMs, as these products enter the Indian market, the technology company will automatically be looking at homologating its product for the Indian market, Krishnamurthy concluded.
Also Read
BorgWarner In Line With ‘Charging Forward’ Strategy
Also Watch
BorgWarner Morse Systems India Thinks Flexibility With New Plant