Mitsubishi Electric not aiming to enter the electric vehicle space in India

Mitsubishi Electric instead wants to concentrate on providing parts to other electric vehicle manufacturers along with their regular business of ACs as well as other devices.

Mitsubishi Electric India has been in the country from quite sometime. The brand is recognised world over as far as the manufacture, marketing as well as sales of electrical and electronic goods are concerned. Mitsubishi Electric claims that it has over 100 years of experience in providing high-quality products and has footprints in over 40 countries with a turnover of USD 37.8 billion. In India, the company offers a wide range of innovative and high-quality products. This includes products and solutions for air conditioners, factory automation and industrial systems, photovoltaic solutions, semiconductor & devices, transportation systems as well as visual & imaging. We caught up with Rajeev Sharma, corporate service and strategic planning, Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt Ltd to know more about the company’s plans. Here are a few excerpts from the interview.

Express Drives (ED): What is the business model for Mitsubishi Electric in India?

Rajeev Sharma (RS): Mitsubishi Electric has widespread presence in India and is a global leader in electric and electronic equipment for residential, commercial and industrial use. Mitsubishi Electric has presence across India with a large distribution channel which is expanding to more cities.

The wide range includes product & solutions of Mitsubishi Electric India includes air conditioners, factory automation and industrial systems, semiconductors & devices, transportation systems and visual & imaging. Apart from the products and offerings of Mitsubishi Electric India, we have three other group companies in India Mitsubishi Elevator India Pvt. Ltd. which manufactures and sells elevators & escalators, Mitsubishi Electric Automotive India Pvt. Ltd. which is an OEM for electric and electronic automotive equipment for many automotive companies in India and Climavenata Climate Technologies Pvt. Ltd. which manufactures and sells chillers & data centre cooling solutions

Mitsubishi Electric also offers a vast range of automation products including e-Factory -Smart Manufacturing Solutions, Computerised Numerical Controllers (CNCs), Inverter (drive products), Servo Motion Systems (AC Servos), Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs), industrial robots, power distribution, monitoring and control products, Micro Controllers (Micro PLCs), Modular Programmable Controllers (PLCs) and Graphic Operation Controllers (GOCs).

ED: What are the technological advancements Mitsubishi Electric has done for the Indian market? How many patents have been filed so far?

RS: As the Indian economy is growing rapidly, the competition encourages us to develop advanced solutions which can support the economy to become sustainable and produce better quality products in larger number.

The size of the Indian economy, population and the relatively high economic growth make the Indian subcontinent an important market for us in the future to learn and tailor our products and solutions. To keep up with the pace of India, Mitsubishi Electric focuses on understanding the preferences, needs, and requirements of the Indian markets and accordingly adapts our technologies and products.

A recent tailored offering includes introduction of new three-star inverter AC as an affordable premium product “JP Series” and a new range of “GR-T Series” air conditioners which offers excellent cooling even in tropical climate and temperatures ranging upto 52 degrees.

We have also introduced our solar power operated pump controller which is getting excellent response from users. Mitsubishi Electric solar pump controllers are manufactured under the guidelines of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) are embedded with the most advanced innovations in the industry. This product has been able to make breakthrough in the market and supported customers in moving from the conventional diesel water pump to a greener and cheaper solar based water pump which uses our VFD.

Also, for an example our success story in the Rolling-Stock product of Transportation system is attributed to our tailored offering to India where the products are incorporated in a dust-free casing which makes the product suitable to Indian conditions and makes them reliable.

Another example is of GOC which a customised factory automation product for India. This product teams up as a controller with display which can be used to suit the limited requirements and budgets of SMEs.

ED: Which all OEMs currently use Mitsubishi Electric products? Do you supply components to any electric vehicle manufacturers?

RS: Our group company, “Mitsubishi Electric Automotive India Pvt. Ltd” (MEAI) is an OEM for electric and electronic automotive equipment for many automotive companies in India. In current work operations of MEAI, they do not supply components to any electric vehicle manufacturers in India but globally we are a top automotive equipment supplier to many automotive companies which manufacture electric vehicles.

ED: Are there any plans to enter the 2- or 4-wheeler electric space as an OEM in India? A JV is being considered?

RS: Mitsubishi Electric is a global electric and electronic company and has operations across the globe. Due it it’s strong presence globally, the company has no plans for any JV in India.

ED: Please elaborate on the role of power semiconductors module (T-PM) for electric and hybrid vehicles.

RS: Mitsubishi Electric pioneered the mass production of power semiconductor modules for hybrid vehicles in 1997. Mitsubishi Electric has already taken a step towards making the idea of mass scale shifting to electric vehicles a reality. The company launched a new J-Series transfer molded power semiconductor module (T-PM) mainly for motor drive applications in electric and hybrid vehicles. It is known that automotive components must especially meet stringent safety standards, which creates demands for power semiconductor modules that provide greater reliability than modules for industrial equipment.

The company’s new module is expected to contribute to further compactness, weight reduction and reduced power consumption in inverters for electric and hybrid vehicles. It has some cutting-edge features like reduced inverter size and weight achieved through the extra compact package with high integration. The compact power semiconductor module features a highly integrated sixth-generation IGBT with a carrier-stored trench-gate bipolar transistor (CSTBTTM) structure and high-thermal conductivity isolation sheet in a transfer molded package. It realises compact EV/HEV inverter designs by achieving 36 per cent smaller footprint and 42 per cent lighter weight compared with the existing J-Series CT300DJH060 automotive power semiconductor module. Another important feature is inverter power-loss reduction supported by low-loss power semiconductor chips. It realises low power-loss EV/HEV inverter designs through the utilization of sixth-generation IGBT achieving 12 per cent lower collector-emitter saturation voltage compared with the existing J-Series.

Source: financialexpress