What chips are needed in the automotive market? How scarce is it?


 

According to DIGITIMES Research, a market research organization, the shortage of cores in the automotive industry has gradually improved since the fourth quarter of 2022. Except for silicon-based power devices IGBT and MCU, power management chips, CMOS image sensors, embedded multimedia cards, and display drivers are still in short supply. The lead time of ICs has gradually been loosened. As the backlog of orders of OEMs is gradually eliminated, it is estimated that the lead time of most automotive chips will continue to shorten in 2023.


01. MCU continues to be in short supply

According to estimates by semiconductor manufacturers, a car needs 20-30 MCUs, and future luxury models may require as many as 100 MCUs, higher than the previously estimated 70. This will result in a larger automotive MCU market. Infineon, a major global automotive MCU manufacturer, also stated at the financial report meeting in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022 that due to the limited increase in the supply of mature manufacturing processes, the company's automotive MCU business is expected to grow by 2.5 times in the next few years.


For a long time, nearly 90% of the automotive MCU market has been concentrated in the six major manufacturers including Infineon, NXP, Microchip, Renesas, ST, and Texas Instruments, and the localization rate is far below 5%.


However, in the first quarter of this year, major chip giants expressed that the supply of automotive MCUs continued to be tight. Among #TI products, the supply of MCUs headed by MSP is still tight, and the supply of DSPs headed by TMS320 is tight. The #NXP automotive MCU series FSx and MCFx series are still tight and start at 52 weeks; Freescale's MK series delivery period is maintained at 45-50 weeks, which has eased compared to 2022; the supply of the S9x series of 16-bit MCUs is tight, and the spot price is very high. Infineon's high-end automotive MCUs (starting with SAK) have been in short supply because they cannot be replaced. For example, SAK-TC277TP-64F200N and SAK-TC222S-16F133F AC are all expensive compared to normal prices.


02. IGBT is priced but not in stock

Recently, many market participants have reported that due to the mismatch between demand and production capacity, the existing production capacity of IGBTs has basically been sold out. Describe the out-of-stock situation. According to media reports, the IGBT shortage problem will be difficult to solve until at least mid-2024. Earlier news also pointed out that some manufacturers' IGBT production line foundry prices rose by 10%. With the large increase in the amount required for automotive and industrial applications, the expansion of production capacity is slow, and customer certification takes time. In addition, Tesla released the news of a 75% reduction in silicon carbide consumption, which makes IGBT, which may become one of the alternatives, even more sought after.


The IGBT market is still mainly monopolized by foreign companies. The top five global IGBT players are #Infineon, #Mitsubishi, #Fuji Electric, ON Semiconductor, and #Semikron. Among them, Infineon has a relatively large leading edge in each market segment. Even STAR #Semiconductor, the largest in China, has a low global market share.


According to the 2023 semiconductor product Q1 delivery data released by the component distributor Future Electronics, the current delivery period of IGBT products and related accessories of mainstream power device manufacturers such as #Infineon, #IXYS, ON Semiconductor, and #ST is relatively long— — Hovering around 50 weeks, up to 54 weeks, more than a year, the delivery time of MOSFET is also similar, and the delivery time is in the long cycle area, which is basically the same as the core shortage period of the previous two years.


In addition to MCU and IGBT, which have seen amazing growth, display driver ICs, automotive chips, and wafer foundry production capacity are hard to come by. International MCU manufacturers are implementing the "Fab-light" (light fab) strategy, and the delivery time of automotive chips has been extended again and again.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What are the Benefits of Power Optimizers?

Image
  Power optimizer for solar panels is a DC/DC converter that is connected to each solar panel in the PV system, turning them into smart modules. By constantly monitoring the maximum production capacity of each individual solar module, optimizers can increase your PV plant energy production – potentially increasing revenue and shortening system payback time. Simply put, the main benefit of power optimizer is that it maximizes the performance of each panel individually. What are the benefits of power optimizers and why are they needed? When installing solar panels, the panels are connected into groups or arrays. In the case of roof-mounted and in-roof panels, there are usually 12-20 solar panels in one group. If the productivity of one of these panels decreases (shadows from trees and clouds, dust, bird droppings, failures of PV components and other factors), then the productivity of the whole group decreases. Defective or shaded panels may produce 15 to 25 percent less solar energy ...
Read more

Intel Ruixuan Graphics DX11 performance update, and launched a new Intel PresentMon\xa0Beta

Image
  【Lansheng Technology Information】Through the release of the latest Game On driver,  Intel  has improved the performance of Intel Ruixuan graphics card running a series of popular DX11 games-bringing an average frame rate increase of about 19% for gamers, and the average About 20% of the 99th Percentile frame rate fluency has been improved. This update opened the prelude to the optimization of Intel Sharp DX11. The above-mentioned games are just the beginning of this optimization. Intel will continue to bring more game experience upgrades to users. Intel  will not stop here, and will continue to optimize Intel Sharp Graphics. The optimization and upgrade of DX11 this time is another proof of Intel's fulfillment of its commitment to players in terms of software optimization and game technology integration. Since the release of desktop graphics cards, Intel has released 30 driver updates, provided 57 new games with Game on optimization support, and provided many other...
Read more

What is a Power Conditioner?

Image
  Looking to protect your sensitive and expensive electronics? Surge protection is a great start, but power conditioners also offer valuable protection for components in entertainment and sound systems, as well as home office devices. What does a power conditioner do that a surge protector can’t? Surge protectors are a great defense against damaging voltage spikes. However more than surges and spikes can effect certain sensitive electronic devices. Radio frequency interference (RFI), electro-magnetic interference (EMI) and voltage fluctuations can also effect sound, entertainment, and office devices, causing a reduction in sound and picture quality. How does it work? Power conditioners act as a buffer between the outlet and your system, smoothing out voltage fluctuations as well as radio and electromagnetic interference that can effect system performance. Initially used in industrial, research and laboratory applications, not long after the introduction of home computer systems, th...
Read more