The development of high-voltage connectors and electric vehicles complement each other. In 2009, my country issued the "Automotive Industry Adjustment and Revitalization Plan" and launched the "Ten Cities, Thousand Vehicles" subsidy plan to promote new energy vehicles. Since then, my country's high-voltage connectors have followed the development of new energy vehicles, from the first generation to the fourth generation today.

High-voltage vehicle connectors are mainly used in lithium batteries, motors, electronic controls, DC/DC converters, OBCs, PDUs and other systems. Together with high-voltage wiring harnesses, they use high-voltage and high-current lines to transmit battery kinetic energy to various components. The differences in system components and wire cross-sectional areas also have different requirements for the electrical performance of vehicle connectors. Generally speaking, the rated voltage of high-voltage connectors ranges from 60v to 1500v, and the rated current ranges from 20A to 300A.

In addition, the requirements for the mechanical and environmental performance of vehicle-mounted connectors are also very high. According to Xu Pingan, excellent high-voltage connector products must pass various mechanical performance tests, environmental tests, and electrical performance tests, such as terminal retention, connector plug-in and pull-out force, drop test, 960H neutral salt spray test, 1008H 125℃ environment aging test, -40℃~125℃ hot and cold shock, etc., to ensure their performance.

Nowadays, the charging methods of electric vehicles are getting closer to fast charging and super charging. Various new energy vehicle companies are constantly improving the vehicle voltage platform. 2022 has become the first year of upgrading from 400v to 800v high-voltage platform.

In the field of low-voltage connectors, due to the difference in the time of automobile manufacturing, foreign car companies first mastered the technical patents, and there is also a large market gap between domestic and foreign low-voltage connectors. If my country's low-voltage connectors are the weak point of vehicle connectors, then high-voltage connectors are the strong point of vehicle connectors. This is closely related to the rapid development of new energy vehicles in my country. Domestic car companies have now kept pace with foreign car companies, and have even gradually surpassed and led.

At the same time, the domestic penetration rate of high-voltage connectors for new energy passenger cars in my country is also increasing. At present, the companies that have deployed high-voltage connectors for passenger cars in my country include Rekoda, AVIC Optronics, Basba, Yonggui Electric, and Sunco Intelligent. Basba revealed that the localization rate of high-voltage connectors for passenger cars has exceeded 60%.

In addition to the localization rate, high-voltage connectors also far exceed low-voltage connectors in terms of value. Since the battery pack capacity of new energy commercial vehicles is several times that of passenger car battery packs, the value of commercial vehicle high-voltage connectors is higher than that of passenger car high-voltage connectors.

The technical orientation of supercharging and fast charging for new energy vehicles also affects the on-board connectors. The increase in battery capacity makes the vehicle body heavier, and the use of connectors and wiring harnesses is gradually increasing. Therefore, the requirements for modularization of components are getting higher and higher.

Zhou Zhenfang, general manager of Lingyue Optoelectronics, said about the modularization of high-voltage connectors: "Multifunctional integration and modularization can better meet the safety requirements of the entire vehicle. Lightweight, easy installation, low cost, high internal clearance, etc., these are the benefits of modularization and integration."

Regarding the development trend of high-voltage connectors, Xu Pingan, chief technology officer of Basba, also emphasized modularization and lightweight. In addition, Xu Pingan said that the electromagnetic compatibility and volume current ratio capabilities of my country's high-voltage connectors and wiring harness assemblies also need to be continuously improved.

The R&D certification of automotive-grade connectors is different from that of other types of connectors. Due to considerations of safety, reliability, and durability, the total cycle of product certification plus customer certification is relatively long. It is reported that BYD's certification cycle for automotive connectors developed by suppliers is about 3 months to half a year. For connector suppliers, it is necessary to continuously increase R&D investment, speed up R&D, improve product integration, and launch new products that meet the requirements of automotive supercharging and fast charging as soon as possible to seize market share.