In October last year, Tesla announced that all Tesla cars currently in production at the factory would be equipped with hardware capable of full self-driving capability. This includes 8 cameras positioned around the body, 12 of the latest ultrasonic sensors, an enhanced forward millimeter-wave radar, and NVIDIA’s Drive PX2 onboard computing device, which boasts processing power 40 times higher than the previous generation.
With the rapid development of electric vehicles and autonomous driving, automotive electronics have become increasingly sophisticated. According to Prismark statistics, in 2009, the output value of automotive PCB products accounted for 3.7% of the overall PCB output value. By 2017, this proportion had significantly increased to 8.8%, with an estimated value reaching $5.2 billion.
1. In the trend of automotive electronics, smart cars and new energy vehicles will be the main development directions in the future. Smart cars are primarily driverless, with the core technology being the ADAS advanced auxiliary safe driving system. Components used on PCBs include sensors, controllers, and safety systems.
2. ADAS sensors mainly utilize millimeter radar waves with frequencies concentrated at 24GHz and 77GHz. This places high demands on PCB boards and processes, emphasizing the use of high-frequency PCBs.
3. New energy vehicles encompass vehicle controllers, motor controllers, and battery management systems (BMS). BMS, in particular, sees extensive PCB usage.
4. According to Gao Gong’s data, each new energy vehicle requires 2.5 square meters of PCB area, accounting for 10% of the BMS cost. The robust growth of new energy vehicles thus fuels significant PCB market demand.
5. Driven by downstream industry expansion, automotive PCBs are poised to be the fastest-growing sector in PCB applications over the next five years, with substantial investments from Japanese and Taiwanese manufacturers.
6. Looking up at the starry sky, one must stay grounded.
7. Currently, the most prevalent automotive electronics are audio, navigation, ETC, and other functions. These applications do not demand high-end PCBs, typically using 4-layer and 6-layer boards due to their widespread market presence.
8. This year, the promising prospects of the PCB industry have led to overall industry prosperity. However, China’s PCB industry is still nascent, with many companies starting late and experiencing recent performance growth.
9. Many companies lack strong R&D capabilities and are content with being mere “processing factories” without ambitious pursuits. Yet, there are firms passionately investing in R&D, adjusting capital, technology, and management to achieve optimal growth in this era.
10. As industrial maturity deepens, companies will stratify, with successful firms thriving and others faltering.
11. Industry consolidation is inevitable, with larger entities prevailing over smaller ones in a natural selection process.
