Higher gas prices drives car, automotive IC sales

LONDON – The market for automotive ICs is set to grow 8 percent in 2012 to an annual value of $19.6 billion, according to market research company IC Insights Inc. (Scottsdale, Ariz.).

The crash of 2008 has caused automobile makers to shift production towards electric and hybrid electric vehicles and increased the prevalence of green initiatives, the firm said. It added that the price of gasoline in the U.S. topping $4 per gallon is prompting many to replace older cars with newer fuel-efficient models.

This trend is deemed to be long-term and IC Insights forecasts the annual market will grow to be worth $27.3 billion in 2015, representing an average annual growth of 11 percent over the period 2011 to 2015.

At the same time the average semiconductor content per vehicle is forecast to rise to $380 in 2012, up 9 percent from $350 per vehicle in 2011. Over the period 2009 to 2015 the chip content per vehicle is expected to increase 11 percent annually to reach $495 per vehicle in 2015.

Although hybrid-electric and electric vehicles (HEVs and EVs) currently account for less than 2 percent of total new vehicle shipments in the U.S. and around the world, the semiconductor content per vehicle is much greater in these vehicles. IC Insights forecasts that in 2015, full electric vehicles will contain about twice as much semiconductor content compared to a standard car.





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