Battery boom: new customers,
new plants, new orders

Webasto’s business in the field of electromobility solutions – especially battery systems – is growing more successful by the day. The supplier is exhibiting its product portfolio at the Battery Show Europe in Stuttgart.

Stockdorf – June 22, 2022 – Webasto has successfully established itself in the electromobility market. The battery business, in particular, is gaining increasing momentum. Visitors can learn more about the product portfolio at the Battery Show Europe in Stuttgart (June 28 to 30) by visiting the top 100 automotive supplier’s booth. Among others, an example of Webasto’s first passenger car battery will be on display. This has been produced at the new battery plant in Dangjin, South Korea, since April 2022.

The passenger car battery for Webasto customer Hyundai-Kia Motors Corporation (HKMC) will be available in two different variants, namely the long-range version with a capacity of 68.7 kWh and a basic version that offers 50.9 kWh.

Standard battery for commercial vehicles

Webasto’s standard battery for commercial vehicles will also be on display at the show. This is produced at the technology plant in Schierling, Germany. Significantly more that 20 customers have now placed their faith in the standard battery system, which combines the price benefits of a scalable mass-market product with the precision fit of a custom solution. Depending on the configuration, it can be utilized in both 400- and 800-volt systems.

Its robust design also makes the standard battery ideal for use in construction machinery. Diesel vehicles generally have very high fuel consumption, which is why battery-electric models or partially electrified vehicles will be increasingly deployed in this segment in future. Webasto recently teamed up among others with Dutch start-up E.C.E., and converted the first excavators to electric operation.

New interface alternative

Since June, Webasto has, in addition to the Vehicle Interface Box (VIB), also been offering the Vehicle Interface Gateway (VIG) – which, among others, handles the electrical interconnection of the battery systems – as an interface between the standard battery system and the vehicle. This can be used to control up to nine battery packs in a 400-volt system and up to 18 in an 800-volt system, up to a total capacity of 630 kWh. Thanks to its compact design, it is also suitable for vehicles with smaller installation spaces. “Our customers need to be able to design their battery system as flexibly as possible. The VIG offers even more options, especially in terms of space and capacity, to meet the respective requirements,” says Sebastian Fuchs, Product Manager Batteries at Webasto.

In addition to battery systems, Webasto will also exhibit the Webasto Next charging station at the Battery Show. This facilitates intelligent and efficient electric vehicle charging in private and commercial environments at up to 22 kilowatts (kW).

E-mobility success story

The massive investments in e-mobility and the transformation course the company has embarked upon are beginning to pay off for Webasto: In addition to two large-volume projects for Hyundai-Kia, the supplier received its first battery order from a German automaker at the beginning of the year. An additional plant will be built in Europe to realize this order.

Overall, the two most recent battery orders alone are worth more than one billion euros. This means that incoming orders in the e-mobility segment for the first three months of 2022 have now overtaken those of the established core roof, heating and cooling solutions business for the first time.

Further information on the show can be found at thebatteryshow.eu

On all three days of the show, a team of experts will guide journalists and visitors through Webasto’s product world. Please contact us if you are interested in an interview on a specific topic.