NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2001

Towards safe and comfortable mobility.
The focus on Automotive electronics in the MEDEA+ Programme.

Jean-Pierre NOBLANC

Microelectronics is the essence of progress in modern car technology. The requirements for improved car safety, car economy and environmental protection, and the demands for more functionality and comfort in cars can only be met in time through substantial innovations in electronics and software. Jean-Pierre Noblanc, Chairman of MEDEA+, looks at the challenges and opportunities of automotive electronics in support of Europe's world-leading car industry.

Ever since the first motor car was constructed in 1886, automotive vehicles more than any other product have fascinated the world. Feeling free to move quickly and comfortably far beyond a pedestrian's horizon is a magic experience that never stops to attract young and old. Last year 42 million cars were manufactured world-wide - in every minute 80 cars left the factory floors.

To conquer market share and the "mind share" of future customers, car manufacturers rely increasingly on technical innovations. Design changes are not enough. New features derived from agressive R&D in automotive electronics have become a must. In line with the lifestyle fragmentation of society, wider choices for the customers facilitate the identification with cars as status symbols and expression of personal identity. And they motivate to pay higher prices for these benefits.

Automotive electronics and market trends

Market researchers predict, that the present downturn of semiconductors will not affect the automotive application segment that much compared to other segments like telecoms or PCs.

With most attractive cars in the world designed and built by European companies, European consumption of semiconductors for automotive applications experienced over the last 5 years a solid annual 14,4% compound growth rate. The market was worth $2,039 million in 1995 and virtually doubled in size, to $3,988 million by 2000. In 2001 the market volume is shrinking to $3,300 million, to steadily grow again and reach $7,300 million in 2005 [Source: Future Horizons].

This positive market forecast is based on the confidence that demand for cars will stay strong. And it reflects the growing share of semiconductors in the total value of cars. While semiconductor components in the year 2000 accounted for 18% of the $1,000.- electronic system value in an average car, this percentage is forecast to reach about 50% of the $1,500.- value by 2005 [Source: Dataquest].

Facing the market and technological challenges

"Automotive electronics" is one of the most demanding fields for future technical developments. It is a complex multidisciplinary domain where software, man machine interfaces, telematics, information and communication systems, electronics, mechatronics, environment control and several other technologies must be jointly used in a well balanced way to create attractive, stable and economic products. This balance, however, is very difficult to find and must be adapted at increasing speed as customers and regulators continuously require improvements in car safety, economies and environmental protection; not to forget the demand for increasing functionality and comfort.

These 4 requirements can be summarised in 4 slogans which neatly combine the end users' vision and the resulting mission for the engineers:

  • "Collision-free driving"
  • "3 liter car"
  • "Zero emission vehicle"
  • "Living room on wheels" and "Office on wheels".

It is no surprise then that the average car today contains already between 200 and 500 integrated circuits for the multiple applications listed above.

These ICs must be interconnected to communicate with each other through reliable, modular and extendable, volume-saving buses (CAN, LIN). The increase in on-board electronic systems also places a strain on batteries and alternators and forces the industry to move to higher voltages (42 volts instead of 12-volt systems).

Now that microelectronics are playing an ever more important role in automotive electronics, virtually all electronic functions and information and communication media that we appreciate in the office and at home, will also gradually converge in the car. As one speaker put it at a recent conference: "From a tool for transportation, cars are being transformed into terminals as part of the mobile communication infrastructure."

The MEDEA+ programme as platform for cooperative R&D in Automotive electronics

Given the extreme strain by high temperatures and bumpy roads on the electronic environment in cars, the trends towards safe, economic and environment-compatible "offices on wheels" and "living rooms on wheels" open up dramatic technological and commercial challenges and opportunities for the players in the global car market.

Winning the battles of fulfilling user requirements faster and more economically than their global competitors, has become the major challenge for the European carmakers in the 21st century.

No single R&D programme or one single company in the world can develop by itself all relevant technologies and secure the portfolio of patent rights necessary to exploit them. And to favour the rapid creation of market standards, new developments must also be made available to other suppliers.Only cooperation, either horizontal or vertical can solve this issue.

Based on the solid experience of JESSI and MEDEA in managing industry-driven market-oriented R&D programmes in microelectronics, the MEDEA+ organisation in its first year of operation has already assembled almost all the leading partners in one very large Applications project plus 4 projects in "enabling technologies" to develop new Automotive electronics "made in Europe".

These projects have the potential to fulfill the vision of the MEDEA+ programme: "To become a leader in system innovation on silicon for the e-economy, thus accelerating Europe's transformation into an Information Society".