What you’ll learn:
- How electrification is driving innovation in automotive design.
- The growth and increasing importance of electronic components in automotive design.
- Six factors to consider when specifying automotive components.
Drivers’ demands for enhanced safety features, infotainment options, advanced security, comfort controls, etc. are driving the need to incorporate more electronics in today’s vehicles than ever before.
Designing and manufacturing vehicles of all types to meet these consumer and professional demands to be smarter and more connected means the number of electronic components needed to power them will rise exponentially, including power and interconnect components. Electronics are expected to make up 50% of the cost of a new car by 2030, according to Statista.
The influx of electronic features in vehicles provides a blank canvas for automotive design and innovation.
Expanding Array of Automotive Semiconductor Applications
Electrified vehicles are empowering innovative new auto designs. With the removal of the traditional internal combustion engine, automakers have more flexibility for where to distribute batteries and charging ports, the ability to increase the amount of space for passengers or cargo, and so on.
The acceleration of new electric-vehicle (EV) companies entering the market has led to wide range of vehicle makes and models. While many are still costly and lack standardization, the increase in options provides drivers with more style and customization. And as technology improves and production increases, the price of the vehicles will likely decrease over time.
Designs in the automotive space tend to be reliable, rugged, and well-proven, but during this time of fast-paced change, many platforms still have yet to become an industry standard. A universal layout for EV design will eventually make its debut, which will help to drive down the cost.
Reliable power transmission and high-speed data transmission to empower real-time, software-guided decision-making will be required in all EVs.
The progress made in microprocessors has also led to a paradigm shift in automotive design. The debut of the software-defined-vehicle (SDV) platform managing the functionality and behavior of vehicle systems means there’s less reliance on hardware, and fewer parts and wires are needed to control a complex system. The end result is increased modularity, flexibility, and connectivity.
It’s nearly impossible to add more wiring, so automakers are taking a page from the computer industry. A two-wire Ethernet standard that can run in the gigahertz range greatly reduces the quantity of wiring needed in a vehicle.
Likewise, the 48-V electrical system allows for a shift to smaller wires. With zonal architectures in the SDV, one controller and the devices are in the same bus with a single wire to connect them all. Future vehicles will be better engineered and more capable of handling higher connectivity speed.
Choosing Between Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
With EV charging infrastructure and vehicle ranges a considerable concern for U.S. drivers, they’re turning to hybrid vehicles. The growth rate of hybrid purchases in the U.S. increased by 76%, and the growth of EV sales stalled in 2023, according to the Associated Press.
Even though consumer adoption of EVs isn’t growing as quickly, electric options are becoming increasingly more common in commercial fleets. Sustainability continues to drive this trend, with final-mile delivery, public transportation, and light- and medium-duty vehicles used in truckyards moving toward battery electric, plug-in electric, and alternative fuels.
Case in point: At the 2024 Work Truck Week in Indianapolis, nearly everything smaller than a semi-truck was available with an electric motor, and there were numerous zero-emission hydrogen-powered systems.
Key Considerations in Automotive Component Selection
Today’s cars contain an average of 80 sensors, 100 electronic units, and a bunch of wiring. To perform well in various weather and road conditions, temperatures, vibrations, and more, components must meet strict standards.
In transportation, reliability and ruggedness are absolutely critical. With some components needing to last for decades, it may take a long time to prepare a fleet for the transformation happening with components. For example, USB-C standards for charging cables are a must for consumers.
Several organizations set the standards for automotive parts, including the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) and Automotive Electronic Council (AEC). AEC and USCAR establish performance requirements and carefully review and certify components approved for use in automotive settings. Components certified by AEC (AECQ) are high-quality, rugged, and reliable, so they hold up during harsh conditions without impacting performance.
Safety comes first when selecting components. If a component breaks down, is there a backup fail-safe to prevent an accident? Automotive designers often look for the latest and greatest components to add the newest features for optimal performance. While speed to market is important, reliability to ensure the safety of the driver and passengers is unwavering.
In addition to safety, other factors to consider when specifying automotive components include:
- Energy efficiency: Is energy used wisely, or does the part consume extra power?
- Modularity: Is the part easy to replace by the owner or is a repair shop needed?
- Contact geometries: How many times can the component be plugged in and unplugged—does the connector work well?
- Use case: Is the part built to specification to meet the use case? Under-qualified parts may only survive, rather than function, and over-qualified parts may limit design flexibility.
- Convenience for assembly: Based on location in the vehicle, will the assembly line be able to install the part repeatedly?
While it’s underrated how important they are in automotive design, interconnects provide the flexibility to make modular pieces that can be swapped out.
As vehicle design continues to evolve, it’s important to find the right balance when it comes to product specifications. With the increase in functionality, component specs may need to be updated. On the other hand, if a specification is over spec there may be too much cost associated with it or it could limit design flexibility.
Future of Automotive Design: Miniaturization and Microprocessors
Electrification is just getting started (see figure). Consumers will continue to rev up their adoption of EVs to reduce use of gasoline and diesel. The demand for advanced options for safety and comfort will also grow.
Miniaturized electronic components will continue to trend, with the growth of microelectronics leading to more microprocessors installed in vehicles. The move toward the SDV platform and its required redesign of control systems will have major implications for years to come.
More microprocessors in vehicles many fuel a host of innovations that rely on fast data processing on the edge, including autonomy, which could be readily available by 2030.
The transportation and automotive industries will continue to drive innovation, and component suppliers like Molex and distributors like DigiKey will continue to offer the components and services needed to move innovation forward.