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Renesas to Set Up “New Energy Vehicle Solution Center” in China

October 31, 2017 by Paul Shepard

Renesas Electronics announced it will establish a “New Energy Vehicle Solution Center” on November 1, 2017, directly under the China Business Unit to accelerate engagement with the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) market.

With the announcements by the governments of Britain and France of policies aimed at prohibiting the manufacture and sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040, the trend away from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles and toward electric vehicles (EVs), and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) is gathering pace.

China has positioned EVs, PHVs, and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) as “NEVs” and considers this sector to be a strategic national industry. The Chinese government has announced a policy aimed at expanding production and sales of new energy vehicles to 2 million units annually by 2020 and increasing the share of total automobiles produced and sold accounted for by new energy vehicles to more than 20 percent by 2025.

To accelerate this effort and to expand the transition into NEV, the Chinese government has also announced its plan to implement a credit-score program from 2018, which make carmakers that manufacture or import NEVs obliged to obtain a NEV score, which is linked to the average amount of fuel consumption and the proportion of the number of NEVs they import. Under these regulations, China is expected to drive the adoption of NEVs worldwide.

Renesas recognizes that China is now the world’s largest market for new energy vehicles and an advanced market for new energy vehicle development.

As such, Renesas will establish the new organization in order to actively engage in local innovation and market opportunities, and to reflect these insights in the planning and development of solutions as well as the formulation and implementation of plans for cultivating new business.

The new organization will work in an agile, flexible manner to advance Renesas’ efforts in the Chinese market and will operate directly under the China Business Unit, which was set up in March 2017 with the aim of unifying in a single business unit sales, marketing, design and development, and manufacturing functions for the Chinese market.

In November 2015 Renesas announced a strategic partnership with National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), a Swedish company in which the Chinese government holds a majority investment, and in May 2017 Renesas announced a strategic partnership with Great Wall Motors (GWM), China’s largest manufacturer of SUVs and pick-up trucks.

GWM strategic collaboration with Renesas aims to develop automotive semiconductor technologies and solutions that will spur the growth of advanced new energy vehicles, including electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHV), and self-driving cars in China.

The signing ceremony of the strategic collaboration was held in Baoding, Hebei with attendance of Bunsei Kure, President and CEO of Renesas Electronics Corporation, and Wei Jianjun, Chairman of Great Wall Motors, and other representatives of both companies.

The collaboration will be led by a joint development team comprising engineers from Renesas and GWM who will focus on four key fields: (1) key components of new energy vehicles; (2) automotive network systems capable of high-speed and robust communication; (3) next-generation automotive infotainment systems supporting safety and comfort; and (4) advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) essential for automated driving.

The Chinese government views the development of new energy vehicles as one of its national strategies and according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China is targeting sales of new energy vehicles to reach 2 million by 2020 and account for more than 20 percent of total vehicle production and sales by 2025.

Through the collaboration, Renesas and GWM will incorporate state-of-the-art technologies into new energy vehicles and self-driving cars, enabling GWM to boost its competitiveness and contribute to accelerating the growth of China’s new energy vehicle market.

“With a semiconductor supplier and car maker partnering directly, we are able to accelerate industrial innovation and provide an expanded range of functions that push performance to higher levels,” said Bunsei Kure, President and CEO, Renesas at the time of the signing. “Our collaboration will contribute to the realization of more intelligent, safer and environmentally friendly automobiles that reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.”

“Partnering with Renesas, the world’s leading automotive semiconductor supplier, enables us to accelerate the development of new energy vehicles including competitive EVs and PHVs, and self-driving cars,” said Wei Jianjun, Chairman of Great Wall Motors, also at the signing. “With Renesas’ relentless focus on high quality, safety and innovation, I am confident that our strategic collaboration will result in expanding China’s new energy market.”

The new organization will play a key role in promoting these strategic partnerships, thereby accelerating the development of solutions for the Chinese new energy vehicle market and contributing to the expansion of the market overall.

Outline of New Organization

  • Name: New Energy Vehicle Solution Center
  • Center Director: Tomoru Sato (President, Renesas Semiconductor Design (Beijing) Co., Ltd.)
  • Business activities: Development of semiconductor solutions for use in new energy vehicles for China