Electrics hit the road

The use of electric motors in automobiles has soared as automakers search for more comfort and more functionalityIn the 1950s, most vehicles simply had an electric blower motor - power windows and convertible tops were in extremely limited use. Windshield wipers were powered by engine vacuum.Now, electrics are a fundamental part of car systems, with electric motors advancing many goals of automakers to increase levels of comfort, safety, convenience and performance, while differentiating their products.Today’s light vehicle will typically have something in the range of 20 motors. Virtually all cars have electrically driven wipers, washer pumps, blowers, and fuel pumps. Power windows, door locks, and mirrors are practically a given today, and you don’t have to rise too far in the price range to find vehicles with antilock brakes and cruise control systems. The list seems never-ending: power seats, electric engine cooling fans, vent flap actuators, exhaust gas recirculation valve actuators, electronic throttle control, power sunroofs, antennas. Even running boards can be power driven – a veritable toyshop for gadget fiends.And it can only get better - in coming years, more motors and actuators for functions such as electric power steering, electric braking, electrically driven oil and water pumps, and electrically driven air conditioning compressors are likely to appear on North American vehicles. In 2002, this translated into demand for 332 million motors, generating revenues of about $2 billion for their manufacturers, or around $120 per vehicle. In the future, while demand for motors is expected to grow, revenues will not see the same growth, compressed as they will be by automakers’ price consciousness. This is despite the fact that in the US, just 24 companies supply automotive electric motors – typically to the system and module manufacturers. Trends supporting the average price of electric motors include more use of brushless motors and motors with built-in intelligence, otherwise known as "mechatronics" - the integration of electronics into mechanical devices. Some examples of potential mechatronic functions are window lift motors that automatically reverse direction when they detect an obstacle, engine cooling systems that manage engine temperature very precisely, and memory mirror and seat systems. However, the trends to brushless and mechatronic motors are expected to be weak at best. Also of interest to electronics manufacturers is the fact that automakers have been developing 42-volt electrical systems, which would provide enough power for substantially more onboard electrical equipment. Once automakers begin to equip vehicles with these higher-voltage systems, this trend and the trend to more electric motors will support and reinforce each other. Based on a report by Joerg Dittmer, Industry Analyst for Frost & Sullivan's Transportation group