Industry Research: With the rise of domestic automotive CAN IC, can it challenge NXP?

At the 17th International CAN Conference in 2020, the CiA Association (CAN in Automation) introduced the third-generation CAN communication technology CAN XL (CAN Extra Long). The data field length of CAN XL is increased to a maximum of 2048 byte, and the rate is further increased to 10Mbps or even 20Mbps. This marks an important step in CAN technology's pursuit of higher speeds and greater data processing capabilities.

Looking forward to the future, the in-vehicle network will develop into a hybrid in-vehicle network architecture based on domain controllers . Under this architecture, Ethernet will become the backbone network, while traditional CAN/CAN FD, LIN, etc. will continue to be used in low-capacity communication scenarios. This hybrid network architecture is designed to meet high-speed data communications while maintaining system flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Yifei Research Institute believes that the future development of vehicle CAN bus will present five major development trends:

1. High data transfer rate and big data processing capabilities:

The emergence of CAN FD (Flexible Data  -rate) and CAN XL (Extra Long) technologies provides higher data transmission rates (up to 5Mbps or even 20Mbps) and larger data load capacity (up to 2048 bytes) than traditional CAN , meeting the needs for high-speed communication and big data processing in modern automotive and industrial applications.

2. Network integration and functional integration:

In order to improve the integration of electronic modules in the car and adapt to the trend of the evolution of EE architecture from distributed to centralized architecture, some companies have begun to develop car-level chips that combine network functions . The development of these chips is not only a reflection of technological progress, but also the result of rapid response to market demand. These chips integrate various communication technologies such as Ethernet, CAN, and LIN to improve system integration and reliability.

3. Transition to Ethernet technology:

Although CAN bus technology will continue to be used for a long time, Ethernet technology is gradually becoming the backbone network technology due to its higher bandwidth and transmission distance. Especially in data transmission-intensive applications such as autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), Ethernet technology shows its superiority.

4. Improvement of safety and reliability:

With the rapid development of the automotive industry, the demand for network security and data protection is also increasing. CAN and CAN FD networks use hardware security modules and specialized software for message authentication to ensure network security. For emerging network technologies, such as automotive Ethernet, methods such as M ACS EC or IPSEC are also being actively explored to improve network security. Both new CAN technology and fusion technology emphasize enhanced security and error handling capabilities to ensure safe data transmission and stable operation of the system.

5.Compatibility and interoperability:

Emerging CAN technologies and convergence technologies are designed with compatibility and interoperability with existing systems in mind so that these new technologies can be smoothly transitioned into existing applications and reduce the complexity and cost of system upgrades.