The automotive semiconductor market is growing and gaining traction due to the increasing adoption of electronic content in the automotive sector for automation, electrification, digital connectivity, and security. Some of the key trends in the automotive semiconductor market are semiconductors to support vehicle artificial intelligence, V2X communication for enhanced safety and mobility, increasing electronic content in automotive, development of ultra-wideband technology, development of integrated IoT based semiconductors, and growth of autonomous vehicles. The major growth drivers for this market are increasing vehicle production, increasing electronic content per vehicle, and growing demand for advanced vehicle safety and comfort systems.
The automotive semiconductor market is divided into several segments, such as microcontrollers, integrated circuits, sensors, discrete power, and others. Key players in the automotive semiconductor market include NXP Semiconductors, Renesas Electronics, ST Microelectronics, Infineon Technologies, and Texas Instruments. These have been working on different strategies to drive sales using highly influential marketing approaches; however, as we examine the challenges and opportunities ahead in this market, companies can benefit from the strategy of developing the smallest single chips for radar sensor and IoT based semiconductors, as well as considering the key target market trends we have identified. Lucintel predicts that the global automotive semiconductor market will be valued at $53.6 billion by 2025, with an expected CAGR of approximately 9.2% between 2020 and 2025.
Lucintel identifies six trends set to influence the global automotive semiconductor market. Most of the industry players and experts agree that these six trends will accelerate developments in the automotive semiconductor industry in the near future. In terms of the widespread knowledge about the automotive semiconductor market already on the horizon, there is still a lack of unified perspective on the direction the industry is moving to proactively address developments. To help bring more clarity to this gap, our study aims to provide insights concerning the direction that changes are taking and how these changes will impact the automotive semiconductor market.
1. Semiconductors to Support Vehicle Artificial Intelligence
The automotive industry is using semiconductors to support vehicle AI to mimic, augment, and support the actions of humans, while simultaneously leveraging the advanced reaction times and pinpointing precision in machine based systems. In self-driving vehicles, AI is used to make the car more convenient and safer for both driver and passengers. In-car assistants, driven by natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning techniques, allow a vehicle’s systems to respond to voice commands and infer which actions to take, without human intervention. Despite the technological potential of both autonomous vehicles and in-car assistants, an abundance of caution relating to safety concerns, and a desire to ensure that users enjoy a smooth and glitch-free experience, these AI systems will likely be deployed gradually through smart semiconductors.
2. V2X Communication for Enhanced Safety and Mobility
Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology enables cars to communicate with their surroundings and makes driving safer and more efficient for everyone.V2X informs in advance about what’s ahead, even without driver visibility. Unlike traditional sensors which try to replicate a sense we already have, such as vision, V2X adds a whole new dimension to human and machine perception. This sensor is capable of seeing around corners and beyond any obstruction in a radius of up to one mile. V2X warns the driver of road hazards, helping reduce traffic injuries and fatalities. In addition to improving safety, V2X helps to optimize traffic flow, reduce traffic congestion, and lessen the environmental impact of transportation. Autotalks is a fabless semiconductor company focused on the V2X market. The company's chipsets address various issues related to V2X communication.
3. Increasing Electronic Content in Automotive
The automobile industry has been moving at a steady pace to integrate electronics into cars in innovative ways to augment safety (radar and collision avoidance, automatic braking), infotainment (satellite radio and Bluetooth), navigation (GPS mapping), system monitoring, onboard computers and many others, including emerging self-driving cars. This has resulted in a significant increase in demand for electronic components. The growing automotive market presents a huge opportunity for automotive semiconductors to support battery performance in EVs, increased connectivity, enhanced sensors, and other technologies. The use of automotive semiconductor content in electric and hybrid cars is higher compared to that in conventional cars. Hybrid and electric vehicles need high-performance microcontrollers, microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits, and power MOSFETs.
4. Development of Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Technology
NXP Semiconductors has introduced new automotive UWB IC. UWB provides precise, secure, real-time localization capabilities unrivaled by other wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Ultra-wideband technology makes use of a very high bandwidth of 499.2MHz. This technology is designed to give spatial awareness to UWB-equipped cars, mobiles, and other smart devices, to enable cars to know exactly where the users are. For the first time, smartphone based car access offers the same level of convenience as state-of-the-art key fobs. This technology is becoming more widespread, and the latest smartphones have already incorporated chips with UWB into their design, right next to the better-known technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. BMW will use ultra-wideband technology in the BMW iX to power the BMW Digital Key Plus. Overall, UWB technology is set to add great convenience features for car owners everywhere, promising both increased security and added ease when using car keys.
5. Development of Integrated IOT Based Semiconductors