In connected car news are Oshkosh, VOXX and Power Integrations.
Oshkosh Defense Awards Contract to VOXX
VOXX International Corporation (NASDAQ: VOXX), a leading manufacturer and distributor of automotive and consumer technologies for the global markets, provided updates on the multi-year award the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, VOXX Automotive Corporation (“VAC”) received from Oshkosh Defense. The initial award is estimated to be approximately $50 million to start, with a longer-term potential value of over $150 million.
In February 2021, Oshkosh Defense was awarded a 10-year, multi-billion-dollar contract from the U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”) as part of their efforts to modernize its fleet and transform USPS into the Preferred Delivery Service Provider for the American public. Under the contract’s initial $482 million investment, Oshkosh Defense was to finalize the production design of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (“NGDV”). That award called for the manufacturing and assembly of between 50,000 to 165,000 NGDVs over a 10-year period.
After a rigorous due diligence process, VOXX Automotive Corporation was selected by Oshkosh Defense to be the provider of in-vehicle camera systems for the new fleet of NGDVs. The VOXX 360 camera system is a new, 4-camera system, with an electronic control unit and touchscreen display. The VOXX 360 camera provides a birds eye view of the vehicle while in reverse and at the driver’s command through a touchscreen display. It also comes equipped with an Event Data Recorder, which automatically turns on in the case of an event such as any form of car crash, vehicle shock, or tow. VOXX will also be supplying shock and tilt sensors as well as interior and exterior speakers. These new systems from VAC will be in all new NGDV’s built.
VAC has received approximately $50 million of initial awards from Oshkosh to support the production and shipment of the first 50,000 NGDV’s. The Company expects to begin mass production in its Fiscal 2023 third quarter, with this revenue realized over a four to five year period. The USPS intends to deploy up to 165,000 U.S.-built vehicles over the next decade.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Pat Lavelle, President and Chief Executive Officer of VOXX International Corporation stated, “This is another milestone for our Company and we are honored to be partnering with Oshkosh Defense and the USPS in this significant initiative to modernize the USPS fleet and enhance the environment through cleaner technologies. It is also a testament to our commitment to innovation as we continue to enhance our engineering capabilities and customize products and solutions for a growing range of customers. We have a number of new awards going into production now and in the coming years, and believe we are well positioned to capture additional business, not only in our Automotive segment, but across the board.”
The NGDV vehicles will include air conditioning and heating, improved ergonomics, and some of the most advanced vehicle technology — including 360-degree cameras, advanced braking and traction control, air bags, a front- and rear-collision avoidance system that includes visual, audio warning, and automatic braking, shock and tilt sensors and speaker systems. The vehicles will also have increased cargo capacity to maximize efficiency and better accommodate higher package volumes stemming from the growth of eCommerce.//
Power Integrations Intros New LinkSwitch Switcher
Power Integrations (NASDAQ: POWI), the leader in high-voltage integrated circuits for energy-efficient power conversion, announced a high-current member of its LinkSwitch™-TN2Q automotive switcher IC family which provides up to 850 mA of output current without the need for metal heatsinking. The highly integrated ICs support a wide input voltage of 30 to 550 VDC, enabling the devices to start up and operate below the required Safety Extra Low Voltage (SELV) threshold in functional safety EV applications.
Edward Ong, senior product marketing manager at Power Integrations, said: “As electronics in electric vehicles grow more sophisticated, automotive customers need higher supply currents to drive them. The 850-mA rating for this new IC represents an increase of 230 percent in available output current compared with other members of the LinkSwitch-TN2Q family. LinkSwitch-TN2Q ICs reduce part-count by including control, driver, protection circuitry and a 750 V power MOSFET in an SMD package.”
LinkSwitch-TN2Q ICs are AEC-Q100 qualified and support buck, buck-boost and non-isolated flyback converter topologies. Each device incorporates a 750 V power MOSFET, oscillator, on/off control, a high-voltage switched current source for self-biasing, frequency jittering, fast (cycle-by-cycle) current sensing and current limit, hysteretic thermal shutdown, and output over-voltage protection circuitry in a monolithic IC.
LinkSwitch-TN2Q ICs consume very little current in standby, resulting in power supply designs that easily meet less than 50 mW no-load at 400 VDC input. Comprehensive protection features enable safe and reliable power supplies, including protection against input and output overvoltage, device over-temperature, lost regulation, and power supply output overload or short-circuit faults.
A reference design kit, RDK-707Q, is available for designers wishing to evaluate the LinkSwitch-TN2Q IC family. Devices are priced starting at $1.33 for LNK3209GQ-TL in 10,000-unit quantities. For further information contact a Power Integrations sales representative or one of the company’s authorized worldwide distributors: Digi-Key, Farnell, Mouser and RS Components.