By 2026, the automotive power electronics market will reach $23 billion

Translated from—electronicdesign

Recently, a study showed that two major factors driving the significant growth of automotive power electronics are: the rise of electric vehicles and the expansion of companies into emerging regions.

Acumen Research and Consulting states that the global automotive power electronics market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19.0% between 2018 and 2026, and is expected to be valued at US$23.35 billion by the end of 2026.

Power electronics is a broad term that refers to a group of solid-state devices like diodes, silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs), thyristors, gate turn-off thyristors, power MOSFETs, and many others that are used to control and convert electrical power. They play an important role in controlling automotive electronics. Automotive electronics is a high-level term derived from power electronics, which has a wide range of applications in modern electric steering, brake systems, seat controls, HEV main inverters, central body controls, etc.

The growing popularity of electric vehicles and the rise of lightweight vehicles will continue to drive the market, helping to steadily increase vehicle sales, thereby helping to promote the use of power electronics in automotive manufacturing. In 2017, global vehicle sales increased to 96.8 million units, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%. In addition, the growing trend of electric vehicles in developing countries and government regulations on lightweight vehicles are expected to create huge opportunities for the market.

The global automotive power electronics market is generally divided into two parts based on application, vehicle type, electric vehicle, components and geography. In terms of application, the market is divided into body electronics, infotainment/in-vehicle communication, safety and security, chassis and powertrain, etc.

Based on the type of vehicle, the market is further segmented into passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. In addition, based on the type of electric vehicle, it is also divided into plug-in hybrid vehicles, pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. In terms of components, the market is divided into MCU, sensors and power management IC.

In terms of region, the automotive power electronics market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). North America is expected to account for a large market share, followed by Europe, as the region has a well-established automotive industry and the use of electric vehicles is increasing. The electric vehicle market in Asia Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth in the coming years due to the rapid adoption of electric vehicles in countries such as China and Japan.

Continental, Mitsubishi Electric, Texas Instruments, Bosch, Toshiba, ON Semiconductor, Infineon, Maxim, NXP, Qualcomm, Renesas Electronics and Vishay are the major players in the automotive power electronics market. These companies have also adopted their own strategic layout to expand their presence in developing regions to tap into the potential opportunities in the market.