Automobiles are poised to be one of the major drivers for the semiconductor industry's growth. To boost its automotive chip capacity, China announced it aims to set up more than 30 standards by 2025, encouraging and regulating related technology development.
On March 28, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released a draft of guidance for formulating the national automotive chip standards. The agency will accept the public's feedback on the draft until April 28.
According to the guidance, it will regulate automotive IC, discrete devices, sensors and other components and modules. Based on applications in powertrain, chassis, vehicle body, cockpit and intelligent driving, the guidance contains rules for various technology development and testing. It also put automotive chips into 10 categories, including control, computing and power chips.
MIIT said it plans to set up over 30 essential car chip standards by 2025 and reach more than 70 by 2030. The standards will ensure the reliability of automotive ICs in a complicated environment and the ability to anti-electromagnetic interference. The regulations will also cover functional safety and information security.
According to DIGITIMES Research analyst David Ma, the long-term growth of automotive chips will be driven by electrification, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
He said consumers are willing to spend more money on bigger car displays and better IVI systems because they can easily see the difference. Car companies will consider the situation when executing production iterations to help sales.
Ma added that current ADAS are mostly Level 2 vehicle autonomy. More computing and sensor chips will be required to enable more advanced autonomous driving technologies,
Establishing automotive chip standards is one of China's approaches to growing semiconductor self-sufficiency, especially with the ongoing geopolitical tension with the US. DIGITIMES Asia previously reported that China-based automakers have begun to look for alternative chips locally to ensure a safe and controlled supply chain. Domestic MCU suppliers, for example, will benefit from the new opportunities.
Currently, China-based MCU suppliers focus on consumer electronics and home appliances markets. International suppliers dominate the automotive and industrial control applications, which are viewed as mid-to-high-end markets.
According to China-based AskCI Consulting, the country saw an MCU self-efficiency rate of only 5% in 2020, although having hundreds of suppliers. But these companies are taking the opportunities created by the drastic changes in the automotive industry to fulfill the demand for automotive MCUs.
