← Critical Product/Equipment/Process: Industrials, Auto & Infrastructure (all topics)
Electronic content per vehicle
What it is
Electronics as a share of vehicle value, rising through infotainment, telematics, driver assistance, lighting, sensors and electrified powertrains. Halogen lighting has given way to LED, and ADAS features are moving from premium to mid-segment vehicles
Most semiconductors, sensors and rare earth magnets are imported
Impact on industries
- Content per vehicle rises independently of unit sales, so a supplier grows even in a flat market by winning more content on the same platform
- Design-in creates platform lock-in - once an electronic module is engineered into a vehicle, it stays for the model's life
- Rare earth magnet dependence on China is a live supply vulnerability for motors, sensors and speakers, and export controls have already disrupted supply
- The component import bill widens the trade deficit since chips and sensors remain imported, and PLI targets this gap but component manufacture is slow to build