Global automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler has launched a 4-in-1 electric axle with an integrated thermal management system and the electric motor, power electronics, and transmission into the axle drive.
Designed for pick-up trucks, the company will supply beam axles to automobile manufacturers, particularly in North America, a press release from the company said.
Matthias Zink, CEO, Automotive Technologies, Schaeffler AG, said, “Electric axles are a key element of our electric mobility strategy.”
Dr Jochen Schröder, Head of the E-Mobility Business Division, Schaeffler, said that integrating all the components into the axle drive creates a highly integrated and complete compact system, which requires significantly less space than non-integrated solutions. Furthermore, the thermal management system significantly influences the efficiency and comfort of the vehicle, he added.
“By means of our 4-in-1 electric axle with an integrated thermal management system, we can achieve an even higher efficiency level of the complete system,” he said and added that the system provides an efficiency level of up to 96%.
Besides, for the electrification of medium-duty pick-up trucks, particularly for the North American market, the company is developing and will manufacture an electric beam axle with the electric motor, transmission, power electronics, and the entire rear axle connected to each other and supplied to the customer as a ready-to-fit unit, the release added.
The company is said to manufacture components for electric axles at several locations worldwide, including Szombathely, Hungary, with operations starting in September 2021.
In addition, components for e-mobility and integrated electric axle drives are manufactured in Taicang, China. Also, a production facility is being set up in Wooster, US, where hybrid modules are already being manufactured. And the new global lead plant for electric motors is now being built in Bühl, the headquarters of Schaeffler’s Automotive Technologies division, the company noted.