China Car Electronics Revenue
Kevin Wang
Automotive electronics market revenue in China is projected to reach $19.2 billion in 2011, up a healthy9.7 percent from $17.5 billion last year, according to an IHS iSuppli China Research report from information and analysis provider IHS. Closely approaching double-digit-growth territory, the revenue increase reflects the dynamism and vitality of the automotive electronics sector in China. Electronic systems now represent 40 percent of the total cost of an average car in China. Furthermore, a rising number of cars in the country are equipped with more sophisticated electronic systems.
Overall, automotive electronics revenue in China is anticipated to reach $29.9 billion by 2015.
Worth noting is the accelerated localization of manufacturing and design of key automotive parts within China by vendors in joint-venture efforts, initiated by the likes of DFM-Nissan, GAC-Honda and BAIC-Benz. Such efforts are sure to boost China’s current 20.6 percent share of the global automotive electronics market to higher levels in the near future, likely also solidifying China’s critical role in the worldwide automotive industry chain.
Given the rising demand among consumers for midrange and luxury cars equipped with plenty of electronic systems, consumption of semiconductor devices in the China automotive market will reach $3.8 billion this year, up 15.2 percent from $3.3 billion in 2010. Semiconductors for infotainment will comprise the largest segment of China automotive electronics chip business in 2011 at $1.2 billion, followed by powertrain systems at $979 million and infotainment navigation at $718 million.
Within the sphere of electronic applications, the most promising sectors during the next fi ve years for semiconductors include automotive passive and active safety systems, as well as energy-saving power-train mechanisms. Both areas have attracted enormous attention from manufacturers, in response to a call for greater production from the Chinese government’s 12th Five-Year Plan.
In terms of semiconductor devices in China’s automotive electronics market, microcomponent integrated circuits are considered to have the greatest potential from a midterm perspective, with plenty of emphasis on engine control units (ECU) and body control units (BCU) in powertrain and safety electronic equipment. An increase in the production of memory integrated circuits also is expected, attributed to the increasing prevalence of navigation systems in Chinese vehicles during the next two or three years.
Deliveries from semiconductor vendors were tight during the first half after Chinese automotive customers placed panic orders in the wake of the Japan quake calamity in March, but the negative effects of the disaster are expected to disappear by the second half of the year.