“What is a problem for the manufacturer is an opportunity for suppliers.” So says Graziano head of automotive transmissions, Paolo Mantelli, who talked to just-auto about the opportunities for electric vehicles and the role of government in promoting the sector.
Prior to joining Graziano, Mantelli served as product engineer at Delphi Automotive.
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j-a: To what extent is Graziano present in the hybrid and electric vehicle sectors?
PM: “We are very much involved in both electric vehicles and hybrids in different applications. With EVs, we are involved in a range of existing products that we develop and supply to the automotive sector.
“From a few kilowatts, which is where we started in 1995/1996, to higher applications such as city cars up to 55 kilowatts and then up to 70 kilowatts. We are expanding this range across the world, to Eastern China and India as potentially interesting.
j-a: What other areas is Graziano working on and do you have some marquee names attached to them?
PM: “The other part is totally dedicated to innovation [such as] two-speed and four- speed – 2SED and 4EDCT which is a four-speed transmission initially in a sports car – but the shift from one to the other happens without interruption – these are a little bit pioneers of innovation.
“We are [also] working on a small batch of production for a very famous brand – they are about to launch a full electric sports car – we are in there with our transmission. That is happening in mid-2012. It is one of the customers which is starting to promote electric drive, starting from top of the range.
“We are definitely involved in the premium application. It is kind of a pretty limited batch of sports cars the customer is brining to the world. We have active projects where we are nominated in programmes that could launch in 2013.”
j-a: What about the sports car segment for Graziano and transmissions?
PM: “We are very involved in sports cars. There is another way to make a sports car – that is using electric drive on the front axle for example and we are involved in that as well. We realise there is a lot of interest in that for a sports car.
“We are doing manual less and less. Lamborghini will not have a manual option any more [for example].
j-a: Do you think electric vehicles will achieve mass appeal? Some vehicle manufacturers have predicted the segment will have a 10% market share by 2020 for example.
PM: “So far we have seen successful launches of electric vehicles, but in limited batches. We are supplying Bollore with a fleet of 3,000-4,000 cars to rent out in Paris – that is a good example but it is not a big volume.
j-a: What about State initiatives – given the current climate are they are a reasonable expectation?
PM: “Government incentives are fundamental, but key to [encouraging] incentives is battery technology, replacement and swapping as well as the infrastructure of that. Small players launched electric vehicles and they were first to have high cost.
“The real success to bigger volumes will come when the big OEMs will launch their products – we [Graziano] have discussions with many big players. We have been supplying Think in Norway which is not in good health, but they were the first to get cars circulating on public roads – we have our design on it.
“We are in touch with most of the OEMs, but our mission is more to partner with the big names for innovative products. When we have appeared at some conferences and exhibitions, we really got a bit interest – it is our function and intention to understand what our customers see.
j-a: Do some countries have a more active role than others with EV subsidies?
PM: “We see some success associated with subsidies – in France it is very common. It is a different story in China. It seems there is lots of money put into it. In some of the big cities they have the authority to increase subsidies.
“For example, in Shenzen the authorities are doubling the support to the customer. In Europe it [EV grants] is penalised by the situation with the downturn and crisis affecting most governments. To unlock electric vehicles, all the big names have to launch their [products] – batteries have to evolve.
“We want to be in the game anyway and put different solutions to really get real-world user data – to understand and fine-tune the batteries and motors.
“It [EVs] will be growing but in a gradual way, especially through the big names coming in and fleets that are rentable, such as Rome and Milan that offer a few hundred cars. If that is starting to kick in, it will bring closer to the real world, the concept of an electric vehicle.”
j-a: How else can Graziano align itself to EVs and hybrids in the future? Is low volume an issue?
PM: “The plan in hybrid will probably be a facilitator to the next step – we are looking at niche applications. We see some commonality in the way we do transmissions for sports cars and for electric vehicles.
“The needs are similar. Volume we see as an issue. What is a problem for the manufacturer is an opportunity for suppliers.
“The big names in the industry…as far as transmissions are concerned…when they are faced with those volumes, they think ‘should we outsource?’ – that is not a given. We are outsourcing and trying to stay in the loop of legislation.
“If [a] famous brand is launching an electric car, then that will have a bigger impact. Tesla made a big splash in the market, but volume is very limited and pricing is very high. Whenever a big name comes up, I think the consensus will be if they get it in there, there must be something in it.
