Every OEM wants in on the electric vehicle game — but the road to getting there is lined with obstacles, including the challenges posed by myriad regional regulations.
The sheer number of standards and regulations out there is daunting: ISO/IEC international standards, UL/SAE in North America, GBT in China, PSE in Japan, EN in Europe. And many of them have their own end-of-line test requirements and acceptance criteria.
If the large number of divergent standards weren’t enough, consider this: Due to the rapidly evolving nature of this relatively new market segment, many of these standards lack exact specificity, which leaves room for different interpretations of the same standard, depending on which lab is doing the testing.
Furthermore, standards continually evolve to become more precise (and in many cases, more stringent), requiring automotive components in all regions to undergo frequent revalidation and recertification. If regulations change, OEMs have to figure out how
to make sure affected products comply.
Without the right partner, it’s easy to see how the fluid nature of the regional regulatory process can cause massive headaches for OEMs, especially when you remember that most automotive components comprise lots of smaller subcomponents, each subject
to its own constantly changing regional standard.
It’s a recipe for unparalleled complexity, expense and — perhaps most important for OEMs — substantially slower times to market.
A model for every market
To deal with all the different regional standards, OEMs have to produce a variety of model versions for different countries or clusters of countries (e.g., one model for Europe, another for China, another for North America, etc.).
Each model version comes with its own subsystem, its own long list of components and specifications that must be tracked and monitored during assembly, and its own highly complex assembly system. No wonder the global launch of any electric vehicle is such an expensive and incredibly complex undertaking.
The power of partnership
Choosing the right automotive partner, one with a proven track record of regulatory expertise in every region of the world, means OEMs can get their EVs to market with greater efficiency and far fewer delays.
With a presence in 44 countries and certification capabilities in hundreds of others (128 for charging alone), Aptiv has the global footprint and worldwide testing expertise to help ensure the certification and validation of components OEMs
need wherever in the world they’re needed. And with EVs being introduced in countries around the globe, our certification presence is growing every day.
No matter the region, we know the market. We know the timing. We know the regulatory processes. We validate our entire portfolio with our own test labs and certify for safety with third-party labs in each region. Whether a North American OEM
is working with us to get certified in China and the European Union, or a European OEM is working with us to become certified for Japan, we can supply the individual components and subcomponents they need to move forward in each region,
fast.
That’s why all OEMs should ask themselves one important question: Does your components supplier have experience and a presence in each market you are endeavoring to enter? Aptiv does.
The bigger picture is safety
As automotive technology evolves, safety remains of paramount importance, and it starts with ensuring that every electric vehicle, no matter where in the world it’s made, is built with reliable and durable components.
By helping our OEM partners quickly and efficiently meet and exceed regional regulations, Aptiv is not just helping them avoid delays in market entry due to a supplier that can’t get a component certified, we’re also helping
assure greater electric vehicle safety on a global scale.