Saietta Group, a UK-based electric drivetrain (eDrive) specialist, reports it has completed the development of an all-new Vehicle Control Unit (VCU), co-developed with HCLTech specifically for three- and four-wheeled lightweight electric vehicles (LEVs) in Asia.
Saietta believes that future legislation and customer demand for a more refined driving experience will drive demand for increasingly complex LEVs across Asia, which will in turn drive demand for appropriate and low-cost VCUs. The company therefore co-developed a highly modular VCU with HCLTech which can ultimately be set up to optimise the operation of a complete electric powertrain, managing the operation of the motor, controller, transmission, torque control, regenerative braking, batteries, and the battery charging process as well as multiple other critical vehicle functions.
The VCU will be manufactured in India by Saietta VNA, a joint venture between Saietta Group and Padmini VNA. The first units will be delivered as part of complete eDrive solutions to ‘one of the largest three- and four-wheel LEV manufacturers in India’. The eDrive supply arrangement, previously announced on 6th December 2022, will see a minimum of 80,000 complete systems delivered over the first five years of the agreement, and deliveries are on track to commence in Q4 2023.
The partnership with HCLTech will enable the end-to-end development of a scalable, modular, safe and secure VCU architecture for LEVs, optimising their operation and multiple other critical vehicle functions.
Saietta in India
The collaboration with HCLTech further strengthens Saietta’s presence in India. In March of this year, Saietta announced a transmission supply contract with AVTEC, one of the largest independent manufacturers of powertrain and precision-engineered products in India.
Saietta VNA will produce the electric motors and inverters in its Indian manufacturing plant and combine these with transmissions from AVTEC manufactured at its plant in India. The resulting 48V-96V eDrive solutions are designed to be lightweight, compact and cost competitive for Indian LEVs.
