Cutting-edge Car Cables
LS Cable & System announced on February 3 that it has signed a deal with Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) to supply harness cables for electric vehicles (EVs).
LS Cable was previously selected as a major parts supplier for China’s BYD and Dongfeng Motor, No. 1 and 2 in the Chinese EV market. With the latest contract with state-run BAIC, the company is accelerating the Chinese EV part market invasion.
LS Cable will supply BAIC with high-voltage harness cables for its eco-friendly vehicle, the EV 200, which will make its market debut in August. BAIC, one of the top 10 players in the global EV market, currently seeks to develop 14 models of eco-friendly vehicles by 2017 and establish new plants, strengthening its EV business. Based on the latest deal, LS Cable plans to expand its supply to other EV models and strengthen its marketing strategy for other state-run automakers.
China is forecast to become the world's biggest electric car market, with sales at 220,000 vehicles in 2015 to 2 million in 2020, thanks to significant Chinese government’s subsidies. LS Cable is planning to increase the current 6 percent share in the Chinese harness cable market to some 10 percent in 2020.
Harness cables connect a car’s electronic control system to its communication module and supply power to sensors. An EV uses 600-volt high-voltage harness cables, which can manage more than 600 volts, instead of 12-volt cables used in regular cars. LS Cable succeeded in developing the product by combining existing fuel car cable technologies and extra-high voltage cable technologies in 2009, and it is expanding the market focusing on China.