Collaborative innovation to help the automotive industry move towards an electrified, automated and connected future

Collaborative innovation, leading the future of automotive electronics

Driven by the general trend of electrification and intelligence, the automotive industry is undergoing a profound transformation. Electronic technology is playing an increasingly important role in building the future of smart connected electric vehicles (EVs), and semiconductor companies such as ST are at the heart of this transformation.

Electrification and intelligence trends are redefining automotive architectures and key subsystems. The development of new electrical and electronic (E/E) systems and software-defined vehicles (SDV) presents a huge market opportunity for semiconductor companies. The growth rate of vehicle semiconductor value is an important indicator to measure the development potential. According to the current market forecast, the average value of vehicle semiconductors this year will reach $800, and is expected to break through the $1,000 mark. However, semiconductor companies also face significant challenges in identifying and delivering the right disruptive technologies to help build the next generation of vehicles, while also meeting automakers' ever-shortening development cycles.

In the face of these opportunities and challenges, strengthening cooperation between semiconductor manufacturers, automotive suppliers, cloud service providers and automotive manufacturers is more important than ever.

A deep understanding of the system is necessary to develop suitable products

In the automotive market, product differentiation increasingly depends on advances in digitization. Consumers are more focused on software-driven functions, and users want to integrate smartphone-like functions into their cars. To meet consumer expectations, connected cars must constantly interact with the digital ecosystem and have ready access to in-car and out-of-car data, which is where the promise of the software-defined vehicle (SDV) concept lies: Focus on a feature-rich, upgradeable product strategy that continuously creates value for end customers through software updates that keep vehicles attractive and valuable throughout their life cycle.

The need for rapid and continuous landing of new functions does not match the long development cycle of vehicle and automotive hardware, and in order to solve this problem, software and hardware decoupling is the only way. Automotive electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture and software architecture play a key role in the decoupling of hardware and software, and they need to build a future-proof hardware foundation with well-defined and stable interfaces and ease of use. Semiconductor companies are at the forefront of this fundamental technology development with their ability to deliver high-performance, reliable and innovative solutions for hardware and software decoupling.

In order to realize software and hardware decoupling, the overall complexity of the system must be reduced. To achieve this goal, semiconductor companies are investing in a deeper understanding of the target application systems for chips and how they can help optimize system architecture and increase overall cost-effectiveness.

Semiconductor technology plays a key role in enabling the complex functions of software-defined vehicles, covering all aspects of the automotive E/E architecture, including the development of a scalable family of microcontrollers (MCUS) and microprocessors (MPUs) to advance the transformation of regional control and central computing architectures. In addition to MCU and MPU products, there is a computing platform supported by software, engineering tools, and an ecosystem of cloud partners. Semiconductor companies must anticipate these trends and make it easier to integrate software in a reliable, powerful, and seamlessly scalable data processing environment where functions coexist and do not interfere. In addition, strict requirements for energy efficiency and functional safety are also critical.

The requirement to ensure system reliability without sacrificing safety standards makes the integration of advanced electronic systems increasingly complex and poses a major challenge to developing safe and reliable power and distribution systems. To solve this problem, the automotive industry began to use intelligent power switch tubes to develop distribution systems. Compared to traditional blown fuses and mechanical relays, intelligent power switches significantly improve product performance.

This is critical to improving vehicle safety and energy efficiency, especially with critical safety systems such as AD/ADAS. Semiconductor switches provide increased stability and monitoring capabilities for real-time and accurately monitored controlled load management. Smart fuses are a prime example of semiconductor companies solving the underlying hardware of SDVS through innovative technology, and this use case at the bottom of the E/E architecture has a huge positive impact on the system level. With the switch to smart fuses, the distribution system can support a fully functional intelligent power management system, optimize energy consumption, enable predictive maintenance algorithms, and reduce vehicle weight and environmental impact through the use of more cost-effective wiring harnesses.

Deal with complexity and shorten the R&D cycle

Semiconductor companies must strengthen their knowledge of systems in order to develop the right products to address the complex challenges and opportunities presented by the automotive market transformation. At the same time, they are also facing shorter development cycles, a trend that is reshaping the way the entire industry works. New carmaking forces from the consumer electronics industry are disrupting the traditional auto industry, and they introduce new models and new features at a very fast pace. Consumers are eager to enjoy the latest technology in economy cars and seek upscaling features, forcing automakers to shorten development cycles to meet customers' changing needs for novelty. Meeting this demand is further complicated by the need to manage diverse manufacturing processes and deal with supply chain fluctuations, as semiconductor production cycles last four to six months. Shorter development cycles require closer collaboration, prompting automakers to work more closely with technology companies, suppliers and start-ups to leverage their expertise and accelerate development.

As a result, end-to-end innovation and advance placement are critical as semiconductor companies work with customers to develop the right technology. In order to seize the rapid development opportunities of the automotive market, especially the Chinese market, ST has established an automotive technology innovation center and an application center in China to better cooperate with local customers. St has also decided to set up a factory in China to provide technical support for the development of electrification in the automotive industry. Silicon carbide is an important material for the manufacture of energy-efficient power semiconductors and plays a key role in electric and hybrid vehicles. Localizing production with a joint venture plant has many advantages: it helps ST respond to structural changes in the industry, shortens the supply chain, and provides a more flexible manufacturing layout that quickly ADAPTS to market needs. This localization strategy not only improves our responsiveness to the market, but also strengthens ST's position in China, the world's largest and most dynamic automotive market.

Closing remarks

The automotive market presents tremendous growth opportunities for semiconductor companies, as well as significant challenges in developing new products and disruptive technologies that automakers need. To succeed in this market, semiconductor companies must have a faster pace of innovation, flexible and efficient manufacturing layouts, significant investment in research and development, and closer collaboration with automotive system suppliers, technology partners, and automakers. Collaboration among all stakeholders in the automotive industry is essential for a comprehensive understanding of market challenges and complex software-centric ecosystems, and is an essential foundation for accelerating innovation, delivering solutions, and moving the automotive industry toward an electrified, automated, networked, and sustainable future.