August 02 2023

In which countries are main technologies of automobile engines located?

For a car, engine, transmission and chassis are three most important components. Among them, engine is also called "heart of car", and power and performance of car must be realized through engine. From a global perspective, foreign auto industry started early, with mature technology and rich experience, and a large number of core automotive technology is in hands of foreign manufacturers. So, in field of car engines, who owns core technology?

Engine Research and Development (AVL, Austria, FEV, Germany, Ricardo, UK)

Austria AVL is a world-renowned research and development organization for internal combustion engines. Currently, AVL Austria has 45 subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide and is world's largest privately owned company engaged in design and development of internal combustion engines, research and analysis of powertrains, and development and production of related test systems. and equipment. In Chinese market, automakers such as Chery, Weichai and Xichai work closely with Austrian AVL. Among them, ACTECO series engine, which Chery is most proud of, is designed and developed jointly with the Austrian company AVL.

The German company FEV is a world-famous leader in research and development of internal combustion engines, mainly engaged in research and development of engine technology, as well as production of engine test equipment. Back in 1980s, German company FEV started selling engine technology to Guangxi Yuchai. At present, its main customers in China are: FAW, SAIC, Brilliance and Haima. Among them, 1.6T direct injection turbocharged engine equipped with Haima 8S engine just launched by Haima Motor was co-created with German company FEV and won "Heart of China" title in top ten engines in 2019.

British Ricardo Ricardo Co., Ltd. is a world-renowned automotive technology company with a long history, as well as world's oldest company in development and production of engines and gearboxes. Engineering experience covers engine assembly management, electronics and software development, and the latest power transmission system, especially has rich experience and world-class level in vehicle and engine research and development.

EFI system (Germany, America, Japan)

With development of automotive technology and tightening of national emission standards, all domestic vehicles must be equipped with EFI systems. In terms of EFI system technology, Germany's Bosch, USA's Delphi and Japan's Denso (owned by Toyota Group) almost monopolized entire Chinese EFI market share, among which Germany's Bosch has largest market share exceeding 60%. For the Chinese automotive market, whether domestic, joint, gasoline or diesel vehicles, all must rely on foreign EFI technology.

Turbocharger (Germany, Japan)

Today, more and more cars are equipped with turbocharged engines, main component of which is a turbocharger. In terms of global market, turbocharger market has formed an oligopolistic competition model. The top five turbocharger manufacturers by annual output are Honeywell, BorgWarner, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ishikawajima Harima and Bosch Mahle. Germany and Japan hold more than 90% of the global market share with obvious competitive advantages .

·EMS engine management system (USA, Germany, France, Japan)

Although engine is equipped with a number of advanced technologies, engine management system (Engine Management System) controls how to intelligently manage this pile of steel, and precisely controls fuel injection, ignition and emissions. It includes various sensors, ECUs, actuators, etc., and even many engine-specific dual injection, multipoint injection and mixed injection systems are EMS functions. This technology also needs to be purchased, and large OEMs do not use EMS. In terms of suppliers, companies such as Bosch in Germany, Delphi in US, Valeo in France and Denso in Japan have monopolized over 90% of global market share.

Engine pistons (Germany, America, Japan)

A piston is reciprocating part of an automobile engine's cylinder block. Its main structure can be divided into top, head and skirt. The top of piston is main part of combustion chamber. The main function of piston during operation is to withstand combustion pressure in cylinder and transmit this force to crankshaft through piston pin and connecting rod. Such a key engine component also has a key technology mastered by foreign countries. Among them, German Mahle, American Federal-Mogul, German Kolbenschmidt, Japanese Aisin, Hitachi and other companies occupy vast majority of the global market share.

Engine crankshaft (Germany, Japan)

The crankshaft is most important part of engine. It perceives force transmitted by connecting rod, converts it into torque, transmits it through crankshaft and drives other engine units. The crankshaft is acted upon by centrifugal force of rotating mass, periodically changing inertia force of gas, and reciprocating inertia force, so that crankshaft is subjected to a bending torsional load. Therefore, crankshaft must have sufficient strength and rigidity, and journal surface must be wear-resistant, run evenly, and have good balance. The German company ThyssenKrupp, Japanese Sumitomo, Japanese Hitachi and Japanese Fuji are well-known manufacturers of automotive crankshafts, occupying a large part of market.

Spark plugs (Japan, Germany)

The spark plug is an important component of ignition system of a gasoline engine. It can supply a high voltage current to combustion chamber and cause it to jump across electrode gap, creating a spark, thereby igniting combustible mixture in cylinder. . It is mainly composed of wire nut, insulator, wire screw, center electrode, ground electrode and shell, and ground electrode is welded to shell. In this technology, Japan Special Ceramics is market leader with a 30% share of global market. Secondly, German Bosch and Japanese Denso occupy 20% of global market share.