The Strategy Analytics Automotive Electronics service report, “Automotive Microcontrollers: Market Demand and Product Directions,” forecasts that 32-bit devices by 2015 will account for 58% of the $7.6 billion automotive microcontroller (MCU) market.

The total automotive MCU is presently worth in the region of $5.5 billion per year. Strategy Analytics research shows that Freescale, Renesas Technology, and NEC Electronics are the top 3 MCU suppliers to the automotive industry with a combined share of 60%.

“Microcontroller vendors need a good position in the 32-bit arena to ensure longer term success in the automotive market since it is the fastest growing processor area. Demand for 8-bit and 16-bit devices will continue and the particular performance and application specific requirements of the automotive sector means that some vendors could prosper here through adopting niche strategies,” commented Chris Webber, VP Automotive Practice.

Mark Fitzgerald, Senior Analyst Automotive Practice added, “Embedded powertrain control will continue to be a primary driver of high-end automotive microcontroller performance and functional development. However, going forward, multi-sensor advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) applications will increasingly emerge as high performance processor drivers. As a result, multi-core designs will increase for greater computational performance and for the ability to provide lower device power consumption.”

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