Gaijin Auto
19 July 2023 07:18 Shanghai Gaijin Auto official account
Intelligent electric vehicles, a new story of the development of the automotive industry. And it's a story that affects the entire automotive industry chain. 
For example, the amount of value of semiconductors carried by a single car has been increasing, from about $450 for a traditional fuel car to over $700 for an electric car already. Even the more features and the higher-end car, the larger this figure may be. 
Then again, both chips and components are increasingly concerned with integrating more functionality in a smaller unit area while achieving lower energy consumption. In the current development context, automotive semiconductors have undoubtedly ushered in greater growth opportunities. Accordingly, automotive PCBs are also opening a new era of acceleration.

Image source: Xiaopeng Automobile

PCB: The "Cable TV Station" of the Car
PCB is printed circuit board, the main role is to connect and support all kinds of electronic components. It can be said that small to smart watches, large to supercomputers, are inseparable from the application of PCB.
Put into the automotive field, it is the engine control/electronic control system, infotainment systems, driver assistance systems, positioning systems and lighting systems and other important components of all automotive electronic systems.
More accurately, PCB is the carrier of power and signal transmission, in addition to the ability to achieve the best electrical performance, also depends on the design of the PCB. Taking ADAS system as an example, the realisation of each function requires highly reliable electrical connection and signal transmission, which ultimately ensures the safety of drivers and occupants. Therefore, PCB is crucial.
Of course, the PCB volume and electric vehicle penetration rate is closely related.
In the first half of 2023, China's new energy vehicle production and sales reached 3,788,000 and 3,747,000 respectively, up 42.4% and 44.1% year-on-year, with a market share of 28.3%. Despite the slowdown in demand for consumer electronics products, the global PCB output value is expected to show a slight decline, but automotive demand can be said to be taking off against the trend of PCB.
According to TrendForce forecasts, 2023 automotive PCB output value will grow 14% year-on-year to $10.5 billion; the proportion of output value in the entire PCB industry will rise from 11% last year to 13%;
By 2026, automotive PCB output value is expected to grow to $ 14.5 billion, accounting for the proportion of the overall PCB output value will rise to 15%, 2022 ~ 2026 automotive PCB output value CAGR of about 12%, the market potential is huge.

Image credit: TrendForce

Development Opportunities from Trams
From the perspective of development trends, automotive PCBs are also under the two major grips of electrification and intelligence for continuous upgrading and iteration.
On the one hand, with the increase in the use of electronic components, PCBs are developing in the direction of high integration, high density, and multilayer. In addition, the popularity of 800V high-voltage platforms has also put forward higher requirements for PCB voltage resistance.
Combined with TrendForce's report, the average value of PCBs carried in a single vehicle of pure electric vehicles is about 5 to 6 times that of traditional fuel vehicles, with the highest value content of PCBs in the vehicle being the electronic control system, accounting for about half of the PCB value of the entire vehicle.
Under the trend of lightweight, electric vehicles are gradually adopting flexible circuit boards (FPC), which will further increase the amount of PCB value of the electronic control system. On the other hand, vehicle intelligence and intelligent driving have put forward higher requirements for the transmission rate, in addition to upgrading the electrical and electronic architecture, but also broaden the use of high-frequency and high-speed PCB.
For example, millimetre wave radar needs high-frequency PCB; power batteries, cameras, etc. need FPC; and LiDAR, ECU and automatic driving system due to the line is more delicate, the higher-end HDI demand.
It is understood that the current automotive PCB to 4 ~ 8 layers of boards, while the price of HDI board is about three times the former, some can reach tens of dollars.

Image source: The Robot Report

It is worth mentioning that when the PCB is also towards the direction of network connectivity, intelligent development, domestic PCB manufacturers may be expected to take this opportunity to bend the road to overtake.
Currently, a number of domestic PCB manufacturers such as Shiyun Circuit, Hudian, Dongshan Precision, and Shenghong Technology have already entered the supply chain of new energy vehicle companies such as Tesla or BYD. It can be predicted that the domestic auto brands really stand in the centre of the global stage, will also be the domestic PCB brand to the world at the moment.