Automotive power semiconductor sales move into hyperdrive
19-01-2017 | By Paul Whytock
Whilst telecoms and computer market demand for semiconductor devices can best be described as mercurial the automotive industry appetite for electronic devices has been a consistent and steady growth area for the past twenty years.
This comforting pattern for the chip makers looks set to continue according to the latest report from industry analysts IHS Markit. According to them the world market for power semiconductor components used in cars and light vehicles will grow at a yearly rate of over 7% for the next six year. This means that by 2022 sales of power modules, power ICs and discrete components will increase from its level of $5.5 billion in 2016 to more than $8.5 billion in 2022.
Contributing to this substantial growth in demand from the automotive industry is the increasing emergence of hybrid and electric vehicles. Add to this the fact that the overall value of electronics used in all types of vehicles is expected to rise to 35% of the total cost of a vehicle by 2020 and it’s understandable why the power semis market is expected to boom.
According to the report; “Power Semiconductors in Automotive - 2017”, current automotive passenger trends mean vehicle occupants want to stay connected via Bluetooth, cellular-based technologies and various other telematic systems. All these functions require increasing levels of electronic technology.
Also contributing to the increasing application of power semiconductors in car design is the automotive industry long-term ambition to create autonomous self-driving cars where safety systems like automatic emergency braking will be mandatory.
In compiling its recent study of the automotive electronics market, IHS Markit identified five major areas on a typical vehicle; infotainment, powertrain, body and convenience, chassis and safety and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
Of these powertrain accounted for almost 50% of the total market for automotive power semiconductors in 2015. On a car powertrain comprises engine, transmission, drive shaft, suspension and the wheels. Broadly speaking the term powertrain describes the main components that generate power and deliver to the road surface.
When it comes to sales of hybrid and electric vehicles in the next few year’s semiconductor sales are predicted to climb by CAGR of 10% up to 2022 across all vehicles. This will mean the powertrain section of vehicles will grab a total market share up to 54% according to the IHS Markit report.
Discrete IGBT power transistors account for most of the powertrain power semiconductor revenue, but increased integration of discretes into modules will cause IGBT power module sales to increase rapidly.
The chassis and safety sector of a vehicle represents the second most valuable automotive domain for power semiconductors, accounting for 24% of the market in 2015 whilst Body and convenience and infotainment only accounted for 14% and 11% of the total automotive power semiconductor market in 2015. Currently the smallest domain is ADAS with only 5% of the market, although ADAS is forecast to see the fastest growth of all of the five sectors growing with a CAGR of 16% from 2015 to 2022.
