By Francisco Yeh, International Affairs Department of TEEMA
I’m very grateful to TEEMA for organizing "TEEMA EV Visiting Group" which helped make this visit possible. The main purpose of this trip was to understand the EV market, industrial distribution and business opportunities in North America, visit the most advanced electric vehicle ecosystem, understand the upstream and downstream experience, better understand the future trends of the U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing industry, and comprehend the latest equipment and trends of electric vehicle component suppliers. We also presented the development strength of Taiwan's electric vehicles through the forum and communicated with local government, and participated in the "2022 SelectUSA Investment Summit" to learn about the EV industry and investment in North America.
Electric vehicles are in progress in the automotive industry
Under the concept of global carbon reduction and environmental protection, electric vehicles are definitely the future trend of the automotive industry. Major automakers and startup companies around the world have launched electric vehicles and are snatching for market share. The European Union has also announced that it will accelerate the transformation to electric vehicles through a proposal of banning the sale of fuel vehicles by 2035. Many Nordic countries in the electric vehicle indicator market such as Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and other countries will ban the sale of fuel vehicles in 2030, and California, the largest auto market in the United States, has also stated that it will ban the sale of fuel vehicles in 2035.
In recent years, the U.S. government has been committed to the development of electric vehicles, and it is expected to increase the proportion of electric vehicles in the sales of new vehicles in the United States to 50% by 2030. The development of electric vehicle software, hardware manufacturing, and the construction of charging equipment will become the focus of U.S. industrial development in the next 5 to 10 years, bringing a wave of investment from Taiwan Supply Chain to the U.S.
Michigan's smart vehicle test site M-City and Ohio's Transportation Research Center (TRC) self-driving car development site
TEEMA visited M-City in Michigan. The M-City laboratory focuses on the way humans interact with self-driving cars, and how cities should be planned to support related applications.
The main design concept is to provide a small simulated city for self-driving testing. The maximum speed of the road test in the simulated city suburbs can reach 56km/h, Mcity is a demonstration of industry-government-academia collaboration, involving the U.S. Department of Transportation, Michigan Department of Transportation, and local governments, as well as M-City Alliance members to jointly promote self-driving development plans, including major automakers Such as Ford and Toyota.
This is a controllable simulated road environment, dedicated for connected, self-driving car technology. In addition, TEEMA visited Ohio TRC, which is one of the advantageous resources for the development of the electric vehicle industry in Ohio. It owns the largest autonomous vehicle, proving ground in North America, with 4,500 acres of testing rails and a 7.5-mile high-speed oval testing track. It is also the only federal vehicle testing laboratory in the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Vehicle Research and Test Center are located in TRC.
There has been more than two decades of history of Selfdriving car testing, and the Ohio government has shown great enthusiasm for electric vehicles and self-driving cars, promising to become the 'wild west' of self-driving technology.
According to the main information technology manufactures of CES 2022, NVIDIA demonstrated its autonomous driving DRIVE Hyperion Platform, artificial intelligence Omniverse Avatar technology platform, and Intel's subsidiary Mobileye introduced its EyeQ chip and self-driving car scale and discussed application effects of radar, lidar and traffic signs.
The demonstration of various related technologies shows that the development of self-driving cars is rapid. As a result, the differentiated or value-added design of electric vehicles should no longer be used in the sense of power, such as horsepower and torque. Instead, it would focus on the aforementioned interior atmosphere and comfort values and put the main service value in the plan of cloud service and online upgrade.
Once the electric vehicle enters automatic driving level 4 or level 5 (the driving function is all in the automatic process), the whole electric vehicle is equivalent to a smart and selfdisciplined computer and automatic mechanical system.
Related information and communication-related components (such as chips, panels, industrial/rugged computer devices, etc.) have got more opportunities to integrate in, and a variety of remote services (such as content subscription services, OTA update services, etc.) can be installed on your vehicle.
General Motors Detroit Electric Vehicle Assembly Plant "Factory ZERO"
Factory ZERO, GM’s first fully dedicated electric vehicle assembly plant. Production is now set to begin at the former Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, less than two years after GM announced the massive $2.2 billion investment to fully renovate the facility to build a variety of all-electric trucks and SUVs. The first vehicles built at the plant will be the GMC HUMMER EV pickup1 and SUV, the Chevrolet Silverado electric pickup truck, and the Cruise Origin, a purpose-built electric, self-driving, shared vehicle.
General Motors introduced the electric vehicle assembly line and company policy, Factory ZERO becomes the first U.S. auto production facility that plans to deploy 5G technology, by using ultra-wideband to support various ongoing digital transformation operations, such as, factory automation, efficiency, and safety-related apps, etc., in order to prepare for the production of electric vehicles. The operation of production devices and equipment such as automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), robots, and sensors must rely on networking capabilities to transmit important data related to quality and safety effectiveness through the Internet of Things (IoT).
Trendy speaking, EV makes vehicle production more platform-based, modularized, and focused on microinnovation of components.
Modular production method (based on platform production)
1. Modular production platform can manufacture different levels of models
2. Higher degree of versatility and standardization of components
3. Each modular function is independent and can be freely assembled into a car
4. Component suppliers supply modules based on vehicle demand.
The enthusiasm of the employees working on the production site shows that GM attaches great importance to electric vehicles and its ambition to invest in the future market. A close look inside Lordstown Motors-Foxconn's EV manufacturing base in North America.
The visit to the Lordstown factory was arranged by one of TEEMA’s members, Foxconn, and it was also the first time that Lordstown Motors had received the guests visit since Foxconn took over. Rick H. Rajaie, VP of Product & Business Development, Electric Vehicle Business Initiatives at Foxconn, personally received the delegation and made a presentation on Foxconn s electric vehicle policy and its views on the market. TEEMA’s delegation also visited electric vehicle production line, operation plant, from automatic welding production line, battery production line to coating production line, etc.., members of TEEMA also personally took the Endurance electric pickup truck to experience the test ride. It has beautiful appearance of a commercial pickup truck, which is indeed very attractive.
As the world's largest consumer electronics manufacturer and solution provider, Foxconn combines manufacturing advantages and existing customer partnerships. In the future, it will cooperate with different OEMs to provide electric vehicle supply chains on the open platform of the MIH Alliance, creating a new revolution and business opportunity.
Electric vehicle startup Bollinger Motors
EV cars sales have continued to surge, and new startups have in turn challenged the world of traditional car manufacturers. These rising stars have distinct characteristics.
Bollinger Motors, established in 2015, aims to develop pure electric commercial vehicles. The model design is simple and square with a powerful style. At present, the company produces battery packs and cockpits with various wheelbase lengths. The all-electric platform and chassis cab of the upcoming commercial van has its own patent on the powertrain. Bollinger is currently cooperating with Detroit auto supplier Roush. The experienced Roush is mainly engaged in customized vehicle design, OEM, and manufacturing, and has cooperated with GM, Ford, BMW, and Nissan.
Meet with the State Government
Michigan has many innate advantages in the development of electric vehicles, with the resources of the traditional auto industry, the "Big Three" automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis are all headquartered in the Detroit metropolitan area of Michigan, providing close industry-government-university cooperation and environment for the development of the automotive industry, as well as human resources.
Michigan Lieutenant, Governor Garlin Gilchrist II, personally received the delegation, explained the development direction of the state government, and clearly proposed various subsidy policies, such as the state's support for electric vehicles. The supporting equipment for electric vehicles such as charging piles is quite complete. Professional speakers from Michigan introduced the electric vehicle policy, investment regulations, tax incentives and land purchase information in Michigan.Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago held “EV forum”, which brought together Ohio congressional officials and the Ohio Department of Economic Development (JobsOhio), which were two of the most important contact units for electric vehicle policy legislation. I’m also honored to be the speaker and the dignitaries to share the overall overview of the electronics industry, showing the strength and introduction of the electric vehicle supply chain in Taiwan, the V-Team of TEEMA, MIH EV Alliance of Foxconn. MIH has brought together 2,300 strategic partners from across the world for the purpose of finding and implementing next-generation EV manufacturing, autonomous driving and mobility service applications and solutions, which helps improve efficiencies in logistics, supply chain issues, design and production.
Many European countries have set stricter standard for CO2 emission, which has become one of the necessary strategic paths for car manufacturers to meet future international standards. This driving force will also drive the sales of various types of electric vehicles, at the same time, it will promote the birth of new ideas and the research and development of new products in various electric vehicle industries.The pervasiveness of electric vehicles will drive the global demand for the construction, connection and optimal management of fast/slow charging stations.
Taiwan’s electric vehicle supply chain manufacturers are involved in various services, ranging from the upstream material to the downstream operation service.
