Supplier sees booming sales of electrified drive systems by ’25
Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri had some interesting things to say about electric vehicles.
Magna’s a mega-supplier to the auto industry, and one of Wall Street’s favorites as it positions itself to cash in on the switch to electric vehicles. The world’s third-largest auto supplier by sales, the Canadian company makes products that range from electric drive systems to body panels.
Magna has been aggressive about developing electric drivetrains and driver assistance systems.
“Beyond 2025, 50% of Magna sales will be from electrified powertrains,” he said. In this context, “electrified” includes hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles.
In addition to familiar concepts like the electric-powered axle the supplier developed, that includes some surprising areas, including the likelihood that Magna’s metal forming business is well-positioned to win business making battery enclosures, the rugged metal containers that protect EV batteries from damage. He also expects Magna’s transmission business to benefit, despite the fact that most of today’s EVS use a simple single-speed direct drive.
“With three or four speeds, an electric vehicle can get to the efficiency of a nine-speed automatic transmission,” Kotagiri said.