Lear Corp. signed an agreement to form a joint venture with Chinese electronics company Shinry Technologies to produce onboard chargers for electric vehicles in the south China city of Shenzhen.
Lear expects to win regulatory approval and complete registration for the JV in the fourth quarter, the automotive seating and electronics supplier said this week.
Onboard chargers, by efficiently converting alternating current from a charging station into direct current stored in a vehicle battery, can shorten the amount time to recharge an EV while increasing range, according to Sng Yih, Lear’s vice president for Asia E-Systems.
“Different vehicles have different specifications for onboard chargers,” he noted. “By partnering with Shinry, we are broadening our extensive suite of advanced onboard chargers.”
Shinry, based in Shenzhen, is a Tier-one supplier of electronic components for EVs in China. It is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Lear, based in suburban Detroit, ranks No. 9 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers with worldwide sales to automakers of $17 billion in 2020.