Forty years ago, there were nearly no semiconductors in cars. Besides a generator that supplied power for lighting, ignition, and simple relays and switches, the car was a pure mechanical system. Today, the car is dominated by electronics and 80% of the innovation happening is based on semiconductor components.
We stand on the border of e-mobility, advanced driver assistance systems, and connected cars. We have the lowest level of fatalities on our roads, despite producing 80 million cars every year. On the other hand, the number of cars, specifically in fast-growing megacities, will require more modern mobility concepts, which will also have a strong impact on the car industry. The flexible and integrated mobility concept will promote car sharing, autonomous driving, connected car technologies, and new types or setups of cars from three-wheelers to small cars driving in convoy.
The semiconductor industry will be challenged to support new and demanding requirements from the automotive industry to enable self-driving. They’ll be asked to provide semiconductors with high computing power, high-speed networks, and redundant features to provide functional and safe operational systems. This will take several steps of learning, system optimization, and new semiconductor technology that is not used today in the automotive industry. In consequence, this dramatically increased complexity has to be managed along the automotive supply chain with new and more integrated development approaches, modern design and simulation tools, and the necessary verification processes to achieve the safety and security levels expected of the safe and efficient mobility systems of tomorrow.
