Evolution of networking in vehicles emerging trend

Pradeep Chakraborty

BANGALORE: A growing awareness for the connected vehicle, the evolution of networking in vehicles, conversion of mechanics to electronic systems, more computing power requirements, and semiconductors replacing electromechanical parts, are among the emerging regional trends in automotive electronics, according to Paul Chu, senior executive, Transport and Standard Products Group (TSPG), Freescale Semiconductor. He was speaking at the session on the overview and roadmap of Transport and Standard Products at the Freescale Technology Forum.

While the size of the global semiconductor market is currently around US $233 billion, size of the TSPG end market is currently around US $79 billion. The size of the embedded control SAM market is around US $24 billion. He added that the role of embedded control in automotive electronics is all about the ability to detect and control, make decisions, and carry out some action.

The automotive market has been steady over the years. It has been growing at a CAGR of 8-9 percent over a 20-year period. Chu said that the number of cars produced globally is growing at 1-2 percent annually, and the number of components used is growing at 6-7 percent annually. Another emerging trend is that the share among OEMs in North America and Europe has been declining, and the share among OEMs in Asia and Japan has been rising. China and India are currently the high growth markets.

Comparing the semiconductor growth in automotive electronics between the developed and developing markets, he said North America, Japan and Western Europe are developed markets. The ECU (electronic control unit) largely drives semiconductor growth in automotive electronics in these regions. On the other hand, China, India, South Korea, other parts of Asia, South America and Eastern Europe are all developing regions. Drivers of semiconductor content in these areas include emission control, safety, weight limits, fuel efficiency, etc.

Moving on to the automotive semiconductor market, Chu said this segment would witness growth from US $13.9 billion in 2003 to US $21.5 billion in 2008. While China has been experiencing 22 percent growth, India/RoW (Rest of the World) has been experiencing 18 percent growth. There has also been significant growth in the North America market due to their Asian transplant factories. The average semiconductor content in vehicles during 2004 was around US $223 globally, with a slightly lower figure in Asia. This is likely to rise to over US $400 by 2015, indicating that there would be much more opportunities for the use of semiconductors in automotive electronics.