Why They Matter in Off-Highway Electrification
Electrification is no longer just for passenger cars. Tractors, excavators, marine systems and industrial vehicles are shifting to electric and hybrid powertrains. This change has created a simple but decisive challenge: how to deliver stable low-voltage power from increasingly high-voltage batteries. That’s the role of the DC/DC converter — and without it, vehicles stop working.
The problem is that most converters in the market were never built for this. Designed for cars, they fail when exposed to constant vibration, dust, humidity, salinity or EMC disturbances. For an off-highway OEM, every failure means downtime, lost revenue and growing lifecycle costs.
At Guilera we have been building heavy-duty electronics for over 40 years. Heavy-duty is not a label — it’s our design philosophy: converters that keep delivering power when others give up. Multi-layer protection, IP67 sealing, surface treatment against corrosion, and derating curves that remain stable at high temperatures are part of our DNA.
Guilera-equipped off-highway vehicle in operation
The opportunity is huge
Market forecasts show DC/DC converters doubling in value worldwide, with Europe leading growth at more than 26% CAGR. This is no longer a niche — it’s a strategic market where only the best players can keep up. OEMs and Tier1 suppliers are searching for sovereign European partners who can combine innovation, custom development and local manufacturing.
Higher power demand is also reshaping vehicles. Staying at 48 V is no longer enough: moving up to 96 V and beyond reduces currents, lowers cable weight and losses, and unlocks new system capabilities.
And the next step is intelligence. DC/DC converters are evolving from silent boxes into active nodes of the vehicle network. With CAN and LIN connectivity, they provide real-time monitoring, predictive diagnostics and smarter fleet management — turning reliability into a competitive advantage.
👉 [Download the Full White Paper (PDF)] and discover what Guilera, with 40+ years in DC/DC, shares exclusively:
- Why OEMs and Tier1 suppliers are looking to European partners they can trust.
- Why DC/DC converters are becoming the backbone of off-highway electrification.
- What heavy-duty design really means and why it matters.
- How higher voltages and intelligence are shaping the next generation of vehicles.
