Mahle and the US company Midtronics, Inc., two leading aftermarket service providers, have signed a declaration of intent to jointly develop service devices for electric vehicles. The aim of the partnership is to offer workshops a safe, simple and effective service for the important Li-ion battery. The offer should range from battery diagnostics to maintenance – regardless of brand and over the entire life cycle of the batteries and vehicles.
Mahle brings its knowledge and experience in refrigerant and fluid service, ADAS calibration, BatteryPRO solutions and vehicle diagnostics to the partnership. Midtronics contributes with its leading position and technology in the monitoring, inspection, diagnostics and maintenance of low and high voltage batteries. Together, both companies can offer a full range of electric vehicle battery services, which will account for a large part of the future business of independent garages.
“In the age of electromobility, battery service will take on a completely new meaning for independent workshops. With our partnership with Midtronics, we are opening a new chapter for service devices,” explained Georges Mourad, Director Global Service Solutions at Mahle.
“Due to the speed at which battery and EV technology is evolving, no company in the automotive service world has been able to offer such a service. This partnership brings together two leading companies that are accelerating the transition to EV service and make it simpler,” said Will Sampson, president of Midtronics.
With the transformation towards electric mobility, the cost and complexity of the batteries and systems for the automotive aftermarket is one of the greatest challenges in its history. The battery itself can represent over 25 percent of the total vehicle cost and varies greatly from vehicle to vehicle. At the same time, the proportion of vehicles with electric drive systems (battery electric and hybrid vehicles) will increase to 95 percent in Europe by 2035, to 90 percent in China and to 75 percent in North America. The battery service could therefore soon represent half of the total services provided by workshops.
SOURCE: Mahle
