The British electric drivetrain (eDrive) company Saietta has completed the development of an all-new Vehicle Control Unit (VCU), that has been co-developed with HCLTech specifically for three- and four-wheeled lightweight electric vehicles (LEVs) in Asia.
A press release from Saietta stated that lightweight vehicles in Asia, such as rickshaws powered by internal combustion engines, have a simplistic electrical architecture, negating the need for a VCU.
However, while LEVs bring many advantages to Asia, their electrical architecture is more complex, controlling functions such as how electrical energy is fed into the traction motors, managing the health of onboard batteries and optimising the charging process.
The VCU will be manufactured in India by Saietta VNA, a joint venture between Saietta Group and Padmini VNA. The first units will be delivered as part of complete eDrive solutions to one of the largest three- and four-wheel LEV manufacturers in India.
The eDrive supply arrangement, previously announced on 6th December 2022, will see a minimum of 80,000 complete systems delivered over the first five years of the agreement, and deliveries are on track to commence in Q423.
The partnership with HCLTech will enable the end-to-end development of a scalable, modular, safe and secure VCU architecture for LEVs, optimising their operation and multiple other critical vehicle functions.
The collaboration with HCLTech further strengthens Saietta’s presence in India. In March this year, the British eDrive developer announced a transmission supply contract with AVTEC, one of the largest independent manufacturers of powertrain and precision-engineered products in India.
Saietta VNA will produce the electric motors and inverters in its Indian manufacturing plant and combine these with transmissions from AVTEC manufactured at its plant in India. The resulting 48V-96V eDrive solutions are designed to be lightweight, compact and cost-competitive for Indian LEVs.
Tony Gott, Executive Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer, Saietta Group, said that, as with all elements of the company’s eDrive solutions, the VCU is designed to be cost-effective for Asia and is highly modular. “This allows our engineers to tailor the functionality precisely to a customer’s requirements and thereby deliver a competitive edge,” he added.
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