BorgWarner: Chain drive will increase in China

Q: The global market share for chain drive and belt drive is 55:45 right now, what's the trend for this technology? What's the market share for these two technologies in china?

A: I think right now probably there is a materiality of belt, turbo engines, in china, but this is going to change, because of the reliability and the future expectations from customers, but also from engine makers, so we will see a move from belt to chain in china. Right now, due to the new requirements from direct injection engines and the new torch demands from diesel engines, we will see an increase of chain, so it might be 60:40 instead of 55:45 in the near foreseeable future.

Q: Ivis from Germany is also a chain manufacturer. Are you competing at the same market? Are you focusing on the same segments and customers?

A: Fundamentally it's the same market. There is Ivis, Ina, Renold, Tsubaki, KMC amd etc., I think it's somewhat in the same market, but the range we put up and provide is wider than the other companies. As an example, as you mentioned Ivis, Ivis has very good product, has very good position in Europe, but has no position in North America.

Q: What're the benefits your products can provide, compared with the competitors?

A: If I refer the question to what we call the silent chain, this is how we go into the market, they are just like the NVH behavior, NVH means Noise, Vibration and Harshness, so I think this is, as the vehicle are less and less noisy, and the convenience and the expect from the passengers to hear nothing of, like chain noise, so providing a technology that is giving you endurance, giving you a quiet environment, and also providing the benefits of the perfect improvements for engine performance. I think this is the advantage. 

Q: Many Chinese auto makers, like Chery and Lifan, are investing a lot on the development of CVT technology. But BorgWarner seems to regard DCT a much larger opportunity. Can you explain it more?

A: Our perspective is the Dual Clutch Transmission has a wider opportunity in the market. It's a better technology solution, and the CVT will remain just in the small market, and also the fact is that the most CVT applications today has some kind of an issue, from the belt sleeping to endurance of the product to noise, so I think for the future we see that DCT is a better technology for automotive manufacturers.

I really would like if we could provide you all the opportunity. We had not too long ago, in Europe where we had journalist and we went to a risk drive, they had the opportunity to drive, the six speed automatic, the CVT and the Dual Clutch vehicle, one after the other, and I assure you that everybody who did this sequence came out of the DCT vehicle regard it most fun, it was just the best drive.

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