Automotive News Europe - February 2020 - 21

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Ulrich Schwarz
Ulrich Schwarz
❚ Denso Director of EU
Electrification; Deputy Head
of Aachen Engineering Center
❚ 51
❚ Started current job in 2011

strategy is to try to find the best spots
for our products. We have a lot of technology they want, whether that is for a
full hybrid, plug-in hybrid, full-electric vehicle or fuel-cell car, because our products are modular and scalable.
Which of your products give you the
greatest hope for the future?
My answer is very simple: all of them.
Electric motors, inverters and battery
management systems will be needed
by everyone. It's unlikely every customer will buy all three from us, but
we will continue to push our products
in parallel.
Denso's own data shows you have
a global market share of more than
30 percent for inverters and battery
management systems. Do you expect
to boost share in those sectors or is
the goal to maintain your lead?
Based on our history and our experience
in these sectors we have a very good
chance to increase our market share.

id Denso's close ties with Toyota
make the company late to move
into full electrification because your
biggest shareholder was more focused on hybrids?
I don't think we are late. We are working
on technology that can either be used
in hybrids or battery-electric vehicles.
Toyota was using the majority of these
components for hybrids, but Denso's
technology is scalable, which means it
can be applied to any kind of electrified
car. That being said, we are not just following Toyota. We provide our technology to all customers at different levels
of electrification. This location [Denso's
15-year-old Aachen Engineering Center
in Wegberg, Germany] was founded to
establish ties with the European automotive community.
What is the biggest challenge that
you and your team currently face?
Our daily challenge is to make sure we

FEBRUARY 2020

make strategic choices. We don't just
follow our customers blindly. We analyze
the markets, the different technologies
and the business opportunities available
to identify the win-win for Denso and the
chosen customer. That requires deep
strategic thinking.
Could you give an example?
Sometimes we try to guide our customers a little because we have proven technology. For instance, we might say, "Why
don't you consider using our inverter to
help reduce the costs?" But, of course,
we are flexible. Ultimately, we want to
have a sustainable business. Part of our

"We are discussing
plenty of business
opportunities with
automakers in Europe."

Does Denso need to fill in any white
spaces when it comes to the products it offers in Europe?
We are happy with our portfolio, however, we want to offer more than a single
component or subsystem. We want to
be a systems supplier. That's why we
formed a joint venture company [BluE
Nexus] with [Japanese transmission
supplier] Aisin AW to develop and sell
drive modules used for hybrid and electric vehicles. We provide the inverter
for the system. We are also collaborating more with our thermal division. We
believe doing this will benefit the customer because the components will be
optimized to work together.
Denso is relatively unknown to people in Europe. What is being done to
change that?
We are not very well known by the public
but the automotive industry knows Denso extremely well. We are not lacking in
RFQs [requests for quotations]. We are
discussing plenty of business opportunities with automakers in Europe.
-- Douglas A. Bolduc

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Automotive News Europe - February 2020

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