Aptiv Playing Leading Role in Vehicle Electrification

As the shift to battery-electric vehicles takes shape, Aptiv is in position to capitalize on the transition, according to the automotive technology company’s executives. 

Bill Presley, president of Aptiv’s Signal and Power Solutions business unit, says the company’s products are found in more the half of the BEVs coming to market now or through 2022.

Its growing relationships with more than 20 global manufacturers, including General Motors, BMW, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Tesla, position Aptiv for the future, he adds. 

The declining cost of batteries, combined with an expanding EV charging network, point to even more growth in the future, Presley (pictured, below left) says. 

“We made the decision to invest in high-voltage vehicles a decade ago,” he says. “Our customers recognize us as a high-tech partner.”

Trying to apply high-voltage solutions to platforms designed to support internal-combustion engines increases inefficiencies that raise costs, but Aptiv takes the opposite approach. If a manufacturer’s profits are under pressure from the shift to electrification, Aptiv can probably help, Presley says.  

The solutions offered by Aptiv leverage its expertise in advanced computing connectivity, data management and instant analysis with a broad understanding of vehicle engineering and systems integration, according to Presley.  

Aptiv can help customers integrate high-voltage electric propulsion systems into their vehicles, providing a vehicle with a complete “nervous system” that encompasses both cockpit and powertrain, Presley says. 

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Scale is critical in the auto industry for holding down costs, and Aptiv offers the scale required to operate in global markets as well as an understanding of the various regulatory environments in which manufacturers must operate, Presley notes. 

Erich Fowland, Aptiv vice president-core engineering, says Aptiv’s expertise includes the ability to integrate high-speed data and high-power electrical systems required for feature-rich, highly automated vehicles. 

Aptiv’s goal is to find solutions to customers' most difficult challenges by enabling the transition to software-defined vehicles supported by electrified and intelligently connected architectures that will combine to power the future of mobility. 

Aptiv emerged in 2017 out of the old Delphi Corp., which was spun off by GM in 1999 and went through a tortuous bankruptcy starting in 2005. As Delphi reorganized, Aptiv gathered expertise in electronics and software over the years, first as part of GM and then as an independent company.  

Aptiv has been working on EV technology since 2014, Presley says. 

Delphi split into two publicly traded in companies in 2017. The portion of the company dedicated to conventional powertrains became known as Delphi Technologies, while Aptiv focuses on EV architecture and driverless vehicle technology.