On January 14, FORVIA HELLA announced that its next-generation intelligent battery sensor (IBS) is expected to enter mass production in the Chinese market by mid-2026. The product will first be installed on several localized battery-electric models from an unnamed Sino-foreign joint-venture auto brand in China.
Image source: FORVIA HELLA
As the core monitoring component for stop-start systems and 12 V low-voltage power networks, the new IBS leverages high-precision, real-time monitoring to collect and analyze key parameters including battery voltage, current, temperature and internal resistance — building a multidimensional sensing framework that tracks the battery across its full lifecycle.
Drawing on real-time data, it can precisely estimate state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH), keeping battery status transparent and helping avoid risks from overcharge, over-discharge and high-temperature damage. With adaptive cold-start current adjustment and power limiting at high temperatures, its optimized dynamic charging strategies markedly extend battery life while improving energy-use efficiency.
Notably, an embedded predictive-maintenance function can detect early signs of battery degradation and issue warnings before potential faults disable the 12 V system — safeguarding vehicle operation.
To meet the fast iteration of China's new-energy vehicle market, FORVIA HELLA is building core product competitiveness through a three-pronged localization push: on the supply chain side, deep adoption of domestic chips for precise hardware cost control; on the R&D side, a China-based team leads software development to respond quickly to customer changes and significantly shorten development cycles; and on the design side, a modular architecture flexibly fits different under-hood layouts, simplifies grounding design, and eases integration for OEMs.
Deng Dongmei, senior director of the Energy Management Product Center at FORVIA HELLA China's Electronics Division, said the new IBS marks a deeper rollout of the company's "in China, for China" strategy. With localized chip sourcing, 100% local R&D and modular design as its three pillars, FORVIA HELLA has not only sharply optimized hardware costs but also built a rapid-response system from requirements intake to product services — shortening development cycles while delivering "lower cost without sacrificing quality, flexibility without compromise" for a safer, smarter user experience.
