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IC Insights, a well-known semiconductor analysis organization, has updated the June edition of the Macleans Report. According to major semiconductor product types and end uses (computers, communications, consumer, automotive, industrial, and government/military), it predicts the details of semiconductors by 2025. The growth of the sub-market.

The above chart shows that since 1998, only the automotive and communication terminal use segments have increased their market share. Driven by the explosive growth of global demand for smart phones, the share of the communications market has almost doubled, from 18.5% in 1998 to 35.0% in 2020.

The automotive semiconductor market share increased from 4.7% in 1998 to 8.7% in 2019, and then fell back to 7.5% during the epidemic last year. However, historically, the share of automobiles in the entire semiconductor market has never exceeded 9.0%, and the share of the communications market peaked in 2013 at 37.2%. In 2020, the semiconductor market in the communications field will be 4.7 times that of automotive semiconductors.

In many cases, automotive semiconductors account for only a small part of the total sales of semiconductor suppliers (TSMC, the world’s largest foundry, and automotive applications have never accounted for more than 5% of its sales.) The production of automotive semiconductors usually does not require sophisticated technology— —Many non-memory automotive semiconductors continue to be manufactured on 8-inch wafers — but automotive chips require rigorous testing to ensure their reliability and require chip manufacturers to commit to meeting customers’ long-term supply requirements. It is also worth noting that automakers tend to be very tough in negotiations and have a strong position, while the profits of the auto chip maker at the other end are rather meager.

Despite the current shortage of automotive chips, the average selling price of many automotive semiconductor products has remained fairly stable. For example, last year, the average selling price of automotive-specific semiconductors was US$0.96 (15% lower than the total selling price of the special-purpose semiconductor market last year), while it was only US$0.95 in the first quarter of 2021. The average selling price of automotive-specific semiconductors in the first quarter of 2021 is lower than in 2020.

Many recent consulting headlines in the semiconductor industry have focused on the shortage of automotive chips. However, given its relatively small scale, the strong growth of the automotive segment semiconductor market is not expected to significantly increase the growth rate of the entire semiconductor market this year. In fact, the automotive semiconductor market grew by 23% in the first quarter of this year, the same as the growth rate of the global semiconductor market.