High reliability emphasized in power relays for automotive electronics

Enhanced product performance stays a priority in China's production of power relays for the automotive electronics market.

Dynamic trends in the automotive industry propel makers of electronic components to keep up if they are to continue benefiting from opportunities in this robust application. For companies manufacturing power relays, there is pressure to ensure products are up to standard because the application is the line's second largest demand driver.

To maximize market prospects, China suppliers of the component are working on improving product reliability further by boosting switching capability, operating temperature and life span. Securing more industry-specific standards such as ELV is also on their agenda, besides environmental compliance based on the RoHS Directive.

Xiamen Hongfa Electroacoustic Co. Ltd's HFV16 model features 70A switching capability and supports up to 125 C. It can come with a transient suppression resistor or diode and QC or PCB terminals. The sealed plastic enclosure is dust-resistant.

The unit with 1 Form A contact arrangement has 20mV typical voltage drop, 1A 6VDC minimum contact load, 100Mohm initial insulation resistance at 500VDC and 500VAC dielectric strength. Its maximum operating time is 10ms, while mechanical endurance is 1x106 operations. The applications include fog lamp and lead light control, rear window defoggers, air conditioning, battery disconnect devices, and fuel pump control, anti-lock braking, traction control, cooling fan control and high-speed fan control systems. The relay conforms to ELV and RoHS guidelines.

Most local makers emphasize competence to meet special design requirements from customers to widen reach.

In addition to the increasing complexity of vehicle systems and onboard electronics, there is the growing electric vehicle or EV segment that is fueling the overall development and expansion of the automotive market.

China's vehicle industry posted nearly 14 percent growth in 2016, the highest worldwide. This is based on total shipments of 28 million units. The volume is expected to hit up to 35 million in 2025. Contributing to this increase is domestic EV manufacturing, which will churn out 2 million units in 2020 from 500,000 in 2017.

Globally, 93.85 million vehicles were sold in 2016, rising by about 5 percent YoY, according to China market research firm ASKCI.

From these projections, demand for automotive power relays will rise at an annual rate of 10 percent in the next one or two years. The estimate for the China market in 2017 is $0.53 billion, while the forecast value for 2018 isan increase between 5 and 10 percent, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

So, besides product development pursuits, the majority of local relays suppliers will raise their production by 10 percent. Huangshan Zhende Electronics Co. Ltd installed a new production line scheduled to start mass manufacture at end-2017. Power relays for vehicle use constitute up to 40 percent of the maker's aggregate shipments.

There are about 200 companies turning out automotive power relays in China. These include global brands Panasonic, Omron and Siemens, and homegrown leaders Xiamen Hongfa and Johnson Electric. Xiamen Hongfa is the largest manufacturer of relays in the country. Local enterprises make up more than 60 percent of the pool.

The main production bases for the line are in China's electronics hubs such as Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces.