TechInsights: Demand for pure electric vehicles will continue to grow next year, and China's advanced electronic/electrical architecture will take the lead

TechInsights released the "Automotive Industry Outlook 2025" report, pointing out that the automotive industry will present several transformative trends next year, including the rise of electric vehicles, the advancement of vehicle autonomous driving, and breakthroughs in semiconductor technology, which will redefine the driving experience and the technical support behind it.

The key points are summarized as follows:

• Demand for pure electric vehicles continues to grow: Although the initial surge in demand for pure electric vehicles tapers off in 2024, the market is far from stagnant. Improvements in powertrain efficiency are driving a shift toward advanced silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) power devices, with the market for these devices expected to grow 60% by 2025.

• Level 2 autonomous vehicles will become mainstream: Next year, this technology (i.e., cars assisting drivers in steering, braking, and acceleration) will become standard in mainstream models, and will also increase the demand for processors and storage devices for the first time.

• China leads in advanced electronic/electrical architectures: By 2025, one-third of Chinese-made cars will feature domain controllers, zonal controllers, or high-performance central computing units, exceeding the global average. These new vehicle architectures are key enablers of the “software-defined vehicle,” a vision that makes vehicles more flexible and upgradeable, leveraging and sharing data, and always connected to the cloud.

• 5G chipsets surpass 4G in automotive applications: As cars evolve, demand for 5G chipsets will surpass 4G, driven by consumer expectations for enhanced infotainment systems and connectivity features.

• Semiconductor revenues impacted by inventory reduction: The semiconductor landscape in the post-pandemic era is complex. While the semiconductor content per vehicle continues to grow, many suppliers face challenges with inventory reduction and expiring procurement agreements.