How Modular Platforms Are Changing the Auto Industry

Presently, the global automobile sector is in the middle of a transition. This can intensively be demonstrated through user experience, application scenarios, connectivity, commercial fleet electrification, intelligence, E/E architecture, and power system.

In this setting, major vehicle manufacturers are changing their strategies. They are working on key areas, including modular platforms, to attract customers and meet their needs.

What Modular Platform Is

Different firms define architectures and automotive platforms differently. American manufacturers define platforms as shared dimensions between the driver’s hip point, the cowl, and the front axle centerline.

The key goal for sharing automotive platforms is to increase ROI on engineering. Leveraging expenses of developing unseen structural components, everything providing vehicle crash protection, supporting bodywork, and mounting suspension & powertrain across different cars allows automakers to generate enough sales volume so as to deliver economy of scale. This maximizes profits, reduces expenses, and, when done right, allows vehicles to be manufactured on the same equipment.

Communizing equipment helps to simplify workforce training as well as improve the quality of products. It also improves the flexibility of manufacturing globally, allowing the manufacturing of models to be easily expanded to different factories developing the same platforms.

How Modular Platforms Work

There are different kinds of automotive platforms. Each one dictates the use of some components that should go through changes.

But why use such solutions?

It is often an approach mainly used so that automotive automakers may produce components with more input, which is associated with savings visible in every supply chain phase.

The modularity concept is important here. That way, an SUV, station wagon, sedan, and other kinds of cars can be made on a similar platform.

More savings from using modular platforms relate to the possibilities of manufacturing different cars on a single assembly line.

What Facilitates this Change?

Mobility patterns have started to change. But whether people are using their car, leveraging mass transportation, or sharing one, consumers may demand a good individual experience.

Customers are also demanding simplified driving, safety, quality, and individualized features. The change from assembling less-or-more standard vehicles to design-to-order and customized vehicles is a challenge for automakers as well as their suppliers.

The new trend towards fewer modular platforms continues, with a lot of variations between individual automobiles. Hence, the future of production will need to be more flexible and modular.

What’s next?

As the automobile sector continues adopting electrification, stakeholders are facing profitability difficulties. In order to address this, automakers will have to partner with competitors in the modular platforms.

Stakeholders’ collaborations between leading OEMs may minimize the fixed-cost burden of plants, tooling, and R&D. The whole point of EV platforms is that they don’t need to be complex. As long as they can accelerate the electrification of vehicles, automakers can lower the costs and increase driving range.

Final Touches

With the ever-changing external environment on account of the changing needs of consumers, powertrain options, manufacturing strategies, and evolving technologies are bound to be complex. Therefore, it is best to extensively conduct an assessment of manufacturing strategies, keeping product strategies and production volume in mind.