Report reveals bright future for automotive ICs

The upcoming IC Market Drivers Report finds that of the six major end-use applications for ICs (computer, consumer, communications, automotive, industrial/medical, and government/military), it is the automotive IC market that is forecast to experience the strongest average annual revenue growth rate through 2018.

The 2013-2018 automotive IC CAGR of 10.8% is 4% higher than the next closest category - communications - at 6.8% and ahead of the 5.5% anticipated growth for the total IC market during this time. The strong CAGR for automotive ICs is partly due to the fact that this market is growing from a smaller base compared to the communications, computer and consumer segments, and partly because a steady and significant increase in IC content is expected onboard all cars - luxury level to base models - constructed throughout the forecast period.

V2X communications, mandatory backup cameras and various driver assist systems will keep the automotive IC market dynamic through 2018.

The 2015 IC Market Drivers Report also reveals that the total automotive IC market is expected to grow 15% to $21.7bn in 2014, compared to a 1% increase registered in 2013. Asia-Pacific is forecast to surpass Europe as the largest market for automotive ICs, beginning in 2016, and is forecast to be the strongest region for automotive IC market growth through 2018 (20.0% CAGR).

Analog ICs and MCUs remain the two largest IC product categories within the automotive IC market, and the automotive memory IC market is forecast to more than double from an estimated $2.0bn in 2014 to $4.2bn in 2018.

The 2015 IC Market Drivers Report examines the largest existing system opportunities for ICs and evaluates the potential for developing applications that are expected to help fuel the market for ICs.

IC Market Drivers is divided into two parts. Part 1 provides a detailed forecast of the IC industry by system type, by region, and by IC product type through 2018. In Part 2, the IC Market Drivers Report examines and evaluates key existing and emerging end-use applications that will support and propel the IC industry through 2018.

Some of these applications include the IoT, automotive electronics, smartphones, personal/mobile computing (including tablets), wireless networks, digital imaging, and a review of many applications to watch - those that may potentially provide significant opportunity for IC suppliers later this decade. The 2015 IC Market Drivers Report is priced at $3,390 for an individual-user license and $6,490 for a multi-user corporate license.