HELLA equips electric vehicle of a European premium manufacturer with lighting and electronics products

Date: Friday 17 September 2021

The development of electromobility continues to progress and this is accompanied by a wide range of opportunities for suppliers. Firstly, in the area of drive concept/energy management, where HELLA is strongly positioned with battery management systems, for example. Secondly, it also opens up new design opportunities and since the classic engine cooling system is no longer required in electric vehicles, the front of the vehicle can be redesigned. Here, HELLA is setting new design accents with illuminated displays, LED light strips and illuminated logos. HELLA has now demonstrated its distinctive expertise in the fields of lighting and electronics in the Mercedes EQA, for example.

In addition to innovative LED headlamps, HELLA has developed a characteristic, one metre light strip for the front of the vehicle. The light strip provides an unmistakable appearance and visually connects the headlamps. One LED is integrated on each side of the light strip. An innovative optical concept developed at the HELLA competence centre for car body lighting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, ensures homogeneous lighting throughout, with the light strip produced at the HELLA plant in Lippstadt. HELLA has also integrated a heated radome, which is a complex radar cover, into the front of the vehicle. It protects the front radar sensors from soiling and weather conditions. In the Mercedes EQA, it is located behind the carmaker's emblem and is integrated into the large panel that adorns the front of the vehicle.

As a highlight from the electronics sector, HELLA has also integrated a high-voltage battery management system in the vehicle. This ensures safe and reliable operation of the electric vehicle's nearly 70 kWh lithium-ion battery and monitors the battery's voltage, temperature and current. The modular, scalable design of HELLA's battery management systems enables integration into each type of relevant drive electronics, independent of the cell technology used, and on this basis ensures a high degree of variability for use in diverse batteries and vehicle models.