It is an electromagnetic switch which is used to manage a high current or high voltage circuit with the help of low current or low voltage circuit. The automotive relay has a coil wrapped around an iron core, and this iron core generates magnetic field once it gets energized. The magnetic field generated attracts the control arm, hence making or breaking of the current circuit takes place. In vehicles, relays are controlled by another switch such as headlights, power windows, horn, and others. Relays are located in the engine area, fuse box, dashboard, and door panels.

VISIONARY LEADERS

Visionary leaders are the leading market players in terms of new developments such as product launches, innovative technologies, and the adoption of growth strategies. These players have a broad product offering that caters to most of the regions globally. Visionary leaders primarily focus on acquiring the leading market position through their strong financial capabilities and their well-established brand equity.

DYNAMIC DIFFERENTIATORS

Dynamic Differentiators are established players with very strong business strategies. However, they have a weaker product portfolio compared to the visionary leaders. They generally focus only on a specific type of technology related to the product.

INNOVATORS

Innovators in the competitive leadership mapping are vendors that have demonstrated substantial product innovations as compared to their competitors. The companies have focused on product portfolios. However, they do not have very strong growth strategies for their overall business, when compared with the visionary leaders.

EMERGING COMPANIES

Emerging companies have niche product and service offerings. Their business strategies are not as strong as that of the established vendors. The emerging vendors include the new entrants in the market, emerging in terms of product portfolio and geographic reach, and require time to gain significant traction in the market.

Automotive Relay

Comparing 17 vendors in Automotive Relay across 21 criteria.
All vendors(17)
Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. is present at around 134 locations across the globe, and the company serves different vehicle segments such as passenger cars, commercial vehicle, off-highway, agricultural equipment’s and recreational vehicles. The company has invested 9.80% of their 2016 revenue into research and development which indicates the company has a strong focus on innovations. Additionally, amongst the 33,689 employees, 6,361 are working in the research department of the company across the globe. The company has experienced strong growth in the OE as well as aftermarket segment. In the automotive segment (lighting and electronics) the company’s sales increased by 10.1%, and the aftermarket segment sales increased by 5.9% during the fiscal year 2015 to 2016.
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TE Connectivity has robust product offerings in the automotive relay segment. The company has a range of automotive relays namely plug-in relays, Mil-Aero relays, protective relays, signal relays, time delay relays and high current relays. The vehicle segments catered by the company are passenger cars, commercial vehicles (truck and bus) and off road. The rating is also given on the basis of OEMs and aftermarket product offerings of the company. TE Connectivity has a strong focus in R&D activities which accounted for 5.26% of total revenue. However the company has not done any major product development since 2009, where it developed the HCR 200 relays, those were developed for the operation of start and stop functions of a vehicle. Hence the company should focus more on key strategies to remain competitive in the market.
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Denso Corporation offers decent product breadth and depth in the automotive relay market. The company serves passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and electric & hybrid vehicles and also has a wide range of automotive relays. The relay types include power PCB relays, low profile micro ISO relays, power mini ISO relays, IC Flashers (2 relay type) and high voltage relays. The company has a wide global presence, with 189 subsidiaries located in 35 countries. The company has a strong focus on research and development and has invested 8.8% of total revenue in R&D in the year 2016. Denso serve major automotive OEMs such as Toyota (Japan), BMW (Germany), Hyundai (South Korea), Nissan (Japan), Audi (Germany), GM (U.S.), Honda (Japan), Daimler (Germany), Suzuki (Japan), Porsche (Germany), Mercedes-Benz (Germany) and others.
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The company is well positioned to cater automotive relay demand for various vehicle types such as passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and electric vehicles. The company has strong product portfolio which includes single or twin PCB relay, Mini and Micro relays, high current relays and EV relays which have maximum current carrying capacity. As the demand for alternate fuel vehicles is increasing at a good growth rate, the company is focused towards development of EV relays. Hence this gives the company a competitive edge over other relay manufacturers. Additionally, the is investing heavily in the R&D activities and has invested 5.96% of total revenue in the year 2016. This will help the company to cater the needs of future vehicles such as autonomous cars.
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The company provides products and services which improve the efficiency, reduce cost and provides safety to the automotive clients. The company has issued 3,483 patents in Japan and 1,806 patents in U.S. in the year 2013. The company is investing in the innovations and research activities, as the company has invested 4.60% of the total revenue in R&D activities in the year 2015. For instance, the company subsidiary in U.S. namely Fujitsu Components America Inc. has designed a lightweight and compact automotive relay for 12V battery vehicles. Applications of this relay include battery coupling, energy management, emergency battery disconnect, and regenerative braking system. Additionally, the company is focusing on the development of relays which can help in AC and DC applications for switching higher current/voltages applications. Hence, the company is leading in terms of innovations and new product developments in the automotive relay market.
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The company is specialized in manufacturing twin relay which is used for motors and solenoid reversible control. NEC has a strong focus on R&D activities and has invested 4.38% of total revenue in the same in the year 2016. The vehicle segment catered are passenger cars and commercial vehicles, the company can expand their product breadth by entering into off-highway, and electric vehicles. The company serves major clients such as Honda (Japan, Mazda (Japan), Nissan (Japan) and Toyota (Japan).
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Mobility solutions segment of Bosch accounts 60% of the company’s revenue. This segment includes automotive steering, starter motors and generators, automotive aftermarket, diesel system, gasoline system and others. The company has a strong supply network covering 60 countries through 440 subsidiaries along with a well-diversified product portfolio. There is a strong presence in OE as well as the aftermarket. The company has 76 OEM clients across the world. Bosch is also strongly focused on research and development as they invested USD 7.69 billion which is 9.5% of their revenue. It has headed the list of companies obtaining the largest number of European patents in 2016.
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Eaton Corporation supplies a range of innovative automotive relays and timers. The company operates 26 major manufacturing plant and supplies to 42 automotive OEMs across the globe. Some their OEM clients are Volkswagen, TATA Motors, Daimler, Fiat, General Motor and others. It is also having a strong presence in the aftermarket. The company has a decent focus on research and development and has invested 2.98% of total revenue in R&D in the year 2016.
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2.6
The company has a presence in the OE as well as aftermarket, and the company has invested 3.84% of total revenue in the R&D. The company has expertise in manufacturing of measuring and monitoring relays. The company earns 36% of total revenue from electrification products.
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Siemens AG holds approximately 59,800 patents. The company is focused on new product developments. Research and development expenditure of this company is USD 5.2 billion which is 5.9% of its revenue in 2016. The research and development expense increased 5% from 2015 to 2016. Siemens has a strong presence in OE markets as well as aftermarket.
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Omron Corporation’s electronic and mechanical components segment has 20% share of relays globally. The relays which have application in automotive industry, home appliances, machine tools and others. The company has a strong supply network covering 40 countries through 158 subsidiaries along with a well-diversified product portfolio. The company invested USD 422.0 million in R&D in 2016 which indicates a strong commitment to building its research capability. However the company generates 40% of its revenue from Japan, 30% from China, 10% from Southeast Asia and 20% Europe, Americas and Other regions. The company should focus more on the Europe and North America region which can help the company to achieve competitive strength.
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Mitsuba Corporation generated 96.0% of their total revenue from transportation equipment and related operations which include automotive relay. The company serves passenger car, commercial vehicles, electric vehicle and electric motorcycle segment. Mitsuba generated 6.2% of total sales from Toyota (Japan), long with Toyota company has major clients such as Dongfeng Honda (China), Hyundai (Korea), Mazda (Japan), Ford (U.S.), Isuzu (Japan), Volkswagen (Germany), BMW (Germany) and Others.
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The company is one of the largest automotive component manufacturers and serves top 25 automotive OEMs across the globe. The company operates through 126 major manufacturing facilities across 46 countries. The company faces strong competition in the automotive electronics segment by Leoni AG (Germany), Yazaki Corporation (Japan), TE Connectivity (Switzerland), and Molex (U.S.). The company generated following percentage of sales revenue from top customers: Source: Company Website and Annual Report
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2.7
The Product Offerings rating has been given by considering the following factors: The company has a wide geographic presence with 118 subsidiaries spread across 35 countries. However, Alstom has weak product breadth as it caters tramways, tram-trains, metros, regional trains, high-speed trains, and locomotives segment. The company does not cater automotive and electric vehicle segment. The types of relays manufactured are electronic relay, plug-in-relay, and others.
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