Lear Corporation, a global automotive technology leader in E-Systems and Seating, employed 51,000 people in Mexico at the end of 2022, a year-on-year increase of 7.4 percent.
To put a first Mexico business in context: electrical distribution and connection systems route electrical and network signals and manage electrical power within the vehicle for all types of powertrains, including traditional ICE architectures and the full range of electrified powertrains, supporting the industry’s current trend toward electrification.
Key components of the electrical distribution and connection systems include wiring harnesses, terminals and connectors, high-voltage battery connection systems and engineered components for both ICE architectures and electrified powertrains that require higher voltage and power management.
Also, wiring harnesses, together with connection systems, connect all electrical and electronic devices in the vehicle to each other and/or to a power supply.
In particular, Lear wiring harnesses provide low voltage (12 volts and 48 volts) and high voltage (60 volts – 800 volts) power distribution.
While low voltage wiring harnesses are used in all light vehicles, high voltage wiring harnesses are used in vehicles with electrified powertrains.
Lear
Wiring harness assemblies are a collection of individual circuits fabricated from raw, insulated wire, which is automatically cut to length and terminated during the manufacturing process.
The individual circuits are assembled together, inserted into connectors and wrapped or taped together to form wiring harness assemblies.
The assembly process is labor-intensive, so Lear’s production is often done in low-cost plants in Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Eastern Europe, Africa, China and the Philippines.
High-voltage battery connection systems, on the other hand, consist of stamped and molded components and assemblies that provide connections between battery cells, from the battery pack to the vehicle’s electrical architecture, and between other electrical components within the high-voltage battery pack.
High-voltage battery connection systems can vary in size and design to accommodate various high-voltage battery architectures and enable safe and efficient electrified powertrain battery packs.
Specific products include inter-cell connection plates, bus bars and main battery connection systems.
These products are manufactured using highly automated processes such as stamping, bending, forming and assembly.
As for Lear, its established capabilities in connection systems and engineered components facilitate its ability to manufacture these products.
Its high-voltage battery connection systems are manufactured in Germany, the United States, the Czech Republic, Mexico and China.
The main material inputs for its high-voltage battery connection systems business include metals, such as copper, aluminum and steel, and various resins.
Battery disconnection units
In its E-Systems segment, the company designs, develops and manufactures BDUs.
These products control all electrical energy entering and leaving the high-voltage battery of electrified vehicles.
More than 14 years of experience in BDUs and expertise in areas integral to BDU performance, such as thermal and energy management and electrical architecture integration, have contributed to Lear’s established market position and its ability to supply BDUs efficiently and competitively.
BDUs are applicable to all electrified propulsion vehicles, but the size, complexity and configuration of BDUs can vary greatly depending on the power requirements of each vehicle platform.
Lear’s BDUs are currently manufactured in Mexico, China and Morocco, with a new U.S. plant scheduled to open in 2023.
Major inputs for its BDUs include metals such as copper and aluminum, various resins and power components such as fuses, electronic fuses and contactors.
Other electronic products
In its E-Systems segment, the company designs, develops, plans and manufactures other electronic products that control various functions and power distribution within the vehicle.
Its electronic product offering includes zone control modules, body domain modules and low- and high-voltage power distribution units.
These units are typically purchased with embedded software to manage vehicle functions, control power distribution and ensure connection to the vehicle network.
Lear assembles these modules using specialized high-speed surface mount equipment and assembly processes in Mexico, Europe, North Africa and China.
Profile
Lear Corporation supplies complete seating systems, key seating components, complete electrical distribution and connection systems, battery disconnect units and other electronics to the world’s leading automakers.
Lear has 253 manufacturing, engineering and administrative facilities in 37 countries.
The company continues to develop its business in all automotive-producing regions of the world, both organically and through add-on acquisitions.
It also continues to restructure its manufacturing footprint to optimize its cost structure, with 67% of its manufacturing facilities and 86% of its employees located in low-cost countries.
