Stuttgart The first wind tunnel in the German automotive industry is in Stuttgart-Feuerbach. The radiator specialist Behr, now part of the Mahle Group, built it in 1937. The first customer was Mercedes. Here the radiator grille of the legendary Silver Arrows has been made more streamlined. The Swabians recently borrowed one of the historic racing cars for a photo shoot in the high-tech tunnel. “The insurance alone cost a lot of money,” says one of those involved.
With the highly polished company history, Mahle wants to show who has the greatest tradition and most experience in thermotechnology, i.e. the cooling and heating of vehicles – not Bosch, not Schaeffler, not Continental and not ZF.
In the future, the Stuttgart-based company wants to make greater use of this initial advantage with a technology that is underestimated by many motorists. “Thermal technology is a key technology for electromobility,” says Jumana Al-Sibai. The manager has been part of the Mahle management for two years and is responsible for what will probably be the most important business area in the future.
Mahle’s thermotechnology division is becoming increasingly important
For Mahle, the fight for survival in the transformation to electromobility will be particularly tough. The supplier, which has grown primarily with pistons and engine parts for combustion engines, is even more affected than many other large suppliers. It is only thanks to the majority takeover of Behr that began 13 years ago that the foundation company now has a large core division in thermotechnology with increasing importance in electromobility.
At the local event in Feuerbach, an 80,000-euro black iX from BMW is in the wind tunnel. “We haven’t had an electric car here whose thermal technology we haven’t been able to improve,” says Uli Blessing, head of development for the division.
“Thermal technology is a key technology for electric mobility.”
(Photo: Mahle)
It should actually be called Eiskanal. Because today it is all about how the components behave when it is cold or hot. The requirements are growing in electromobility. Depending on the situation, the battery must either be cooled or heated. In addition, no waste heat from the combustion engine is available to heat the cabin. The less battery power is required for this, the further the electric car drives.
In the case of electric cars, key acceptance factors by end customers depend on thermal management: battery life, range, drive performance and fast charging capability.
Additional business beckons suppliers. “The sales potential in thermal management in electric cars is three times higher than in vehicles with combustion engines. Thermal management is driving electrification at Mahle,” explains Al-Sibai, who switched to Mahle in 2021 after 18 years at Bosch.
Billion-dollar thermotechnology business
This is one of the reasons why all major suppliers are now rushing to thermal technology for electric cars. Because the market for these technologies is growing significantly. Starting from a global total volume of around 35 billion euros for thermal management products in 2021, Mahle expects an increase to more than 50 billion euros by 2030. “We want to participate disproportionately in this growth with our modular systems,” Al-Sibai is convinced.
At Mahle, the division accounted for around a third of group sales last year, at EUR 4.5 billion. With an increase of 15.9 percent and 20,000 employees, it is the fastest growing and largest division.
The market for electromobility products is growing rapidly.
(Photo: Mahle)
Although components for internal combustion engines continue to play a role, thermotechnology and electronics are of key strategic importance. Half of the new orders worth eleven billion euros in 2022 came from these areas.
The economic pressure on Mahle is enormous: operationally, the Swabians only earned 60 million euros. Because of the massive additional costs caused by the crisis, the bottom line was a loss of 332 million euros. The equity ratio is a meager 20 percent.
Experts expect tough competition
“Mahle not only has to have production costs under control in the factories. The price war starts before that,” says car expert Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM). “Mahle needs superior solutions right from the design and development stage, precisely because of the economic, existential importance of thermotechnology for the company.”
On this point, however, the Mahle management is confident. The most important future product are the electric air conditioning compressors with an order intake of 1.4 billion euros, as Al-Sibai says. According to Mahle, they have developed the most powerful ones in the world with up to 18 kilowatts.
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Another key product since 2009 are battery cooling plates, which have been continuously developed. They should ensure fast charging, a long range and a long service life for sensitive lithium-ion batteries. “In the automotive industry, we were the key driver of this heart,” says Head of Development Blessing. Orders over 800 million euros are in the house.
Heat pumps allow e-cars to go further
Blessing also has high hopes for energy-saving heat pumps for cars. “Anyone who wants to have 22 degrees inside with an outside temperature of seven degrees loses 40 percent of the range of the vehicle, compared to only 20 percent with a heat pump.”
Mahle is well positioned in thermotechnology. But in electromobility there are more competitors for almost all components. Bosch’s market power could put Mahle in serious trouble. The world’s largest automotive supplier is planning the market launch of its thermal systems for 2024 and promises range gains of 25 percent. Schaeffler is also entering the market with integrated thermal management systems. But unlike Mahle, the competitors have not yet announced any order volumes.
“With our high level of system expertise, we enable less installation space, higher efficiency and performance as well as lower overall costs,” says Blessing. The Mahle module combines heat exchangers, coolant pumps, condenser, refrigeration unit, sensors and valves in one unit.
Al-Sibai has Chinese customers in particular in mind. “We are welcomed with open arms by the ten most important customers,” says the manager. “China develops its electric cars in three shifts. If you want to survive as a supplier in the leading Chinese market, you have to be able to keep up with this pace,” says car expert Bratzel. Al-Sibai sees Mahle in a position to do this.
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