From emissions tech to EV electronics

Eberspaecher's Electronics unit is enabling big growth in EV and AV business.

A recent visit to Eberspaecher's North American engineering and manufacturing complex reveals how a global Tier-1 rooted in combustion-engine technology is profitably navigating the transition to the electrified future.

In the Brighton, Michigan, plant, which produces 40% of U.S. Class-8 diesel exhaust systems, catalyst bricks are being canned and prepared for shipment to OEMs. Meantime in the facility's engineering offices, work is progressing on next-generation heating systems for passenger and commercial EVs, power electronics, automated-driving systems, and high-voltage switching solutions. Best known for 90 years as an exhaust-systems and climate-controls supplier, the Germany-based company now is a parallel force in electric power switching and distribution. Since establishing its Electronics business unit in the early 2000s, Eberspaecher has produced 30 million electronic control modules, more than 17 million high-performance switches and six million DC/DC converters, among other power-net components.