Principle and development history of vehicle-mounted T-BOX

T-BOX is a key component listed in the "Guidelines for the Construction of the National Internet of Vehicles Industry Standard System (Intelligent Connected Vehicles)". T-BOX is embedded in the vehicle when the vehicle is produced and is a passenger car pre-installed component. The automotive pre-installed market is relatively closed and has high industry barriers.

Development History

The prototype of TBOX was born in 1995. It is an automotive information service product jointly launched by General Motors and its subsidiaries and Hughes Electronics. Since 1996, it has gradually provided basic services such as emergency call services and remote fault prompts. The products of this era generally rely on 1G or 2G cellular communication networks, with voice call services as the core, and provide simple message transmission. At that time, due to the limited domestic basic environment, the product was not introduced and was in a blank stage in China.

After entering the 21st century, with the birth and popularization of 3G networks, T-BOX began to gradually transition to 3G networks. On the basis of the original voice services, remote data collection, remote vehicle control, security and other basic network data services were added. my country began to issue 3G licenses at the end of 2008 and started the construction of 3G mobile communication networks. At the same time, the concept of Internet of Vehicles began to sprout in China. Among domestic independent brands, SAIC Group started the deployment of Internet of Vehicles earlier. The T-BOX system equipped in the mass-produced Roewe E50 in 2012 is a representative 3G network T-BOX product in China, filling the domestic gap.

In 2013, the world was in the midst of a 4G network construction boom, and my country issued 4G licenses at the end of 2013. In 2016, SAIC Motor launched the world's first 4G Internet car, the Roewe RX5, which is equipped with T-BOX, which has Internet applications such as over-the-air upgrades, remote diagnosis, digital identity, online media, and intelligent voice, marking that my country's automobiles have begun to fully enter the era of intelligent networking. With the continuous improvement of the industrial chain of intelligent networked vehicles, the rapid development of new energy vehicles, and the rise of shared cars and other businesses, the market demand for T-BOX continues to increase.

In 2019, the penetration rate of T-BOX installed in vehicles by domestic automakers was about 20-30%. Calculated based on the penetration rate of 20%, the sales volume of my country's T-BOX industry in 2019 was about 4.289 million units, of which the sales volume of T-BOX for domestic brand passenger cars was about 1.6814 million units; the current unit price of T-BOX is about 500 yuan/unit, the sales volume of T-BOX industry was about 2.144 billion yuan, and the sales volume of T-BOX for domestic brand passenger cars was about 841 million yuan.

T-BOX industry market structure and marketization level

So far, EU countries, the United Kingdom, Russia, Saudi Arabia and other countries have successively issued regulations since 2018, requiring vehicles to be equipped with on-board emergency call systems (i.e., e-Call systems). my country has not yet issued regulations requiring traditional passenger cars to be equipped with T-BOX, but has issued relevant regulations requiring new energy vehicles to be pre-installed with on-board terminals. my country requires that from January 1, 2017, newly produced new energy vehicles be equipped with on-board terminals, and the operating safety status of the whole vehicle and key power battery systems be monitored and managed through the enterprise monitoring platform, and the relevant safety status information of vehicles in the public service field be uploaded to the local monitoring platform.

Since T-BOX is a key component of intelligent connected vehicles, and the first-tier suppliers of key components for foreign-invested and joint venture vehicle manufacturers are generally determined by the foreign headquarters, the T-BOX of foreign-invested and joint venture vehicles is currently mainly provided by international Tier 1 automotive parts suppliers such as LG Electronics, Continental, Bosch, and Valeo. There are high barriers for local manufacturers to become T-BOX suppliers for foreign-invested and joint venture vehicles. At present, the supply of T-BOX for foreign-invested and joint venture vehicles is monopolized by foreign manufacturers such as Bosch, LG, and Valeo. The T-BOX market segment for domestic brands of automobiles was also originally monopolized by foreign manufacturers, but with the improvement of R&D investment and technical strength of domestic T-BOX manufacturers, import substitution for foreign brands has been gradually realized. At present, T-BOX suppliers for domestic brands of automobiles include local manufacturers such as Huihan Microelectronics and foreign manufacturers such as Bosch.

T-BOX Industry Prospect Forecast

Since T-BOX is a key component of intelligent connected vehicles, the development trend of intelligent and connected passenger vehicles is the core driving factor for the development of the T-BOX industry.

In terms of industrial policies and development plans, in February 2020, 11 ministries and commissions jointly issued the "Intelligent Vehicle Innovation and Development Strategy", proposing that intelligent vehicles have become the strategic direction of the development of the global automotive industry, and the development of intelligent vehicles is of great strategic significance to my country. It is proposed that by 2025, the technical innovation, industrial ecology, infrastructure, regulatory standards, product supervision and network security system of Chinese standard intelligent vehicles will be basically formed. It is necessary to achieve large-scale production of intelligent vehicles with conditional autonomous driving and market application of intelligent vehicles with highly autonomous driving in specific environments.

In terms of communication technology development, the communication technology of intelligent connected vehicles needs to develop in tandem with the evolution of mobile communications. 2020 is the first year of 5G network development. The low latency, high reliability, and massive access characteristics of 5G communication technology solve the pain points of the intelligent connected vehicle industry.

With the strong promotion of intelligent connected vehicle industry policies and the commercial use of 5G communication networks, my country's intelligent connected vehicle industry is facing huge market opportunities. T-BOX will further integrate the advanced features of 5G, its functions will be more powerful, and the penetration rate and market scale of T-BOX will be greatly improved.