AUTOMOTIVE electronics is the fastest growing application market among all electronics segments, with global revenue expected to rise at a CAGR of 8.3 percent from 2002 to 2008, according to iSuppli. The projected size of this segment in 2006 is around $95 billion, and is set to reach $114 billion in 2008. (
Fig. 1.) The worldwide shipment of semiconductors for automotive applications is projected to rise from $19 billion in 2006 to $25 Fastest growing application market billion in 2008, showing a CAGR of 14.9 percent over 2002-2008 period.
In Asia, semiconductor consumption in this segment is projected to rise by 14.18 percent from $4.38 billion in 2005 to $5 billion in 2006, according to In-Stat, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.2 percent during 2005-2010, to $7.11 billion in 2010. (
Table 1.) However, in terms of percentage of semiconductors consumed in various end-user application segments in Asia, automotive electronics continues to be small. In 2005, this segment’s share was 3.2 percent in Asia, estimated to grow to 3.5 percent in 2010. (
Fig. 2.)
Freedonia estimates that the world demand for automotive electronics for OEM use will advance by 7.5 percent p.a. to $124 billion in 2009. (
Fig. 3.)
Though worldwide vehicle production grows merely 2 to 3 percent p.a., and is not projected to grow significantly in the near future, cars will continue to use more and more of electronics, enabling a steady growth of growth. Environmental and safety issues have propelled legislations that compel automakers to use electronics. Customer demand is also increasingly moving toward electronics. New products and applications are emerging, such as advanced lighting, night vision, and by-wire (a technology enabling meet stringent fuel economy/emission standards), although the delay in the introduction of 42V technology is pushing back the commercial introduction of a number of systems in telematics—the integrated use of telecom and informatics, allowing drivers to access traffic information, entertainment, location information, Web content, and other IT fare.
Powertrain electronicsAn In-Stat report says that powertrain electronics and controls (which analyze signals to make instantaneous decisions to optimize performance, fuel economy, and emissions) accounted for 34.8 percent of the global automotive electronics market in 2002, and because of pricing pressure this will fall to just under 31 percent in 2007; body/chassis electronics will increase with a CAGR of 11.7 percent from $2.7 billion in 2002 to $4.7 billion in 2007; and overall safety and convenience accounted for 47.3 percent of the global market in 2002 and is forecast to reach 48.8 percent by 2007.
Fusion Consulting reports that Japan, China, and South Korea will lead Asia in the use of telematics in automobiles. With the largest motor vehicle production base in Asia, Japan has the highest ICT spending consumption as GDP percentage in Asia. Unlike in US, where telematics is driven by safety considerations, telematics in Asia is driven by navigation and content access applications. Telematics is now venturing into more advanced areas, such as networked vehicle diagnostics. This enables identifying mechanical faults and perform car diagnostics remotely, allowing vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-toinfrastructure communications, and operating software programmable in-vehicle units. One reason cars will require more software is the continued reliance on largely independent system-level technologies that often require proprietary software architectures.
