This results in more connections that are more expensive than just a few meters longer cables. For car manufacturers, however, it offers the advantage that production time can be outsourced. “Ready-made and assembled modules can then be assembled by the car manufacturer with much less effort,” says Glück. Ultimately, it is a matter of a cost-benefit analysis.
Pioneer Tesla
According to an insider, simplified assembly is only one aspect for BMW. Modular networks get by with fewer control devices. This has advantages for over-the-air software updates because fewer control units have to be supplied with the new software version. There are discussions in this direction, says the insider. In addition, a modular vehicle electrical system is lighter because not so many cables and control units are required. This is an issue, especially with electric cars.
Pioneer is – once once more – Tesla. CelLink of San Carlos, California has developed a new low-profile, easy-to-install wiring harness. CelLink boss Kevin Coakley doesn’t comment on customers, but the wiring harnesses are built into around a million electric cars, and only Tesla has that many vehicles on the road. Its wire harnesses can be automated – a product can be moved from one line to another in minutes, Coakley said.
Sam Fioriani, chief analyst at AutoForecast Solutions (AFS), says the chip crisis and the war in Ukraine are only making simpler supply chains and thus electric cars even more attractive for carmakers. It makes little sense to develop new wiring systems for combustion engines. “That’s yet another reason to accelerate the transition to electromobility,” he says.
