The market outlook for automotive
safety and control ICs is rosy, according to several market research firms—particularly
for sensors and microcontroller units (MCUs).
For example, Frost & Sullivan says global revenues
for meeting mandated automotive active
safety requirements will reach $21.3 billion in
2012, up from $13 billion in 2006, for a compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8%.
According to iSuppli Corp., worldwide shipments
of MEMS sensors will grow to 935.7
million units by 2012, up from 474.2 million
units in 2006, a CAGR of 12%. It also predicts
global auto MEMS sensor revenue will grow
to $2.1 billion in 2012, up from $1.3 billion in
2006, a CAGR of 8%.
Gartner Inc. says that this year’s worldwide
market for automotive MCUs is on pace
to total $5.3 billion by the end of the year.
It’s projected to reach $6.3 billion by 2012.
Many of these MCUs, particularly high-end
32-bit units, will be used more frequently for
improved fuel economy in hybrid electric vehicles
that combine electric engines with gascombustion
engines. The blending of power
between these two engines requires computer
control and complex software provided by
higher-performance 32-bit MCUs with more
embedded memory.
Frost & Sullivan also forecasts that the
European market for electronic control units
(ECUs) for automotive powertrains will grow
at a rate of 10.9% over the next seven years.
“We expect that the initiative of the European
Automotive Manufacturers Association
(ACEA) to reduce carbon-dioxide (CO2)
emissions will significantly drive the demand
for innovative hybrid drive and transmission
technologies such as double-clutch transmissions
and automated manual transmissions,”
says Frost & Sullivan research analyst Aswin
Kumar. “At the same time, the European
Union Commission’s efforts to reduce the
number of traffic casualties by 50% will drive
demand for accident-prevention systems and
other safety-relevant systems.”
All of this will stimulate the demand for
greater number-crunching power in the ECUs
used for motor control and exhaust-treatment
applications.
As for automotive radar chips, the potential
market appears to be significant. It’s
been pegged by many at $2 billion by 2010.
Strategy Analytics predicts that by 2011, the
demand for radar chips will grow 65% annually
to 3 million units, with 2.3 million of
them being used in cars. And by 2014, 7% of
all new cars will include a distance warning
system, primarily in Europe and Japan.