Automotive design growth seen by Silicon Valley and emerging markets

The Strategy Analytics AES (Automotive Electronics Service) has released its report Automotive Tier 1 Regional Strategies: technical capabilities raised In emerging markets and Silicon Valley, an update to its earlier 2008 Insight. Along with the Tier 1 Vendor Regional Design Center Database, these are valuable resources to identify Tier 1 regional centers of investment, product expertise and design activity. "Growth areas in automotive development include electrified powertrains, ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), HMI (Human-Machine-Interface), smartphone connectivity and telematics," says Kevin Mak, Automotive Electronics Analyst. "This has propelled regions such as Silicon Valley, California, into the automotive spotlight. Such high tech hubs bring together other industry sectors, offering technologies that can bring about the necessary systems in these growth areas, which are often not available to automotive players from their existing centers in places like Michigan. "These new players offer the creativity that can be lacking in existing centers. Their strength also includes surveying user experience when designing HMI systems. Google's development on autonomous driving is an illustration of what can be achieved outside the conventional chain of automotive design." Meanwhile, developments continue to enhance comfort and convenience, fuel economy, reduce harmful emissions and improve safety. Electronics are increasingly being deployed in system design, resulting in more design centers developing ECUs (Electronic Control Units) and software. The wider availability of skilled labor, necessary infrastructure, allied with the existence of other high tech industries, government incentives and lower costs have enabled the rise of design centers in countries, such as Bulgaria, the Philippines and Vietnam, despite being small auto markets. Finally, a growing number of design centers in China, facilitated by its growing auto market and by the acquisition of foreign companies for new Chinese players, are keen to enter the automotive electronics market - examples of which include BWI Group and Nexteer. Strategy Analytics