Power electronics industry: the tables are turning…

The market research and strategy consulting company Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group has developed comprehensive and accurate power electronics expertise for more than ten years, with specific investigations fully dedicated to automotive applications. All year long, Yole’s analysts deliver significant analyses, including technology and market reports and teardowns.
Why is vehicle electrification so critical? Why has it developed so rapidly in the last years? What is the market situation? How will it evolve? What are the key technologies to follow and business opportunities to keep in mind?…
Today, Yole’s power electronics team releases the report Power Electronics for Automotive – Focus on Passenger and Light Commercial Vehicles to answer these questions. This technology and market study analyzes the challenges and opportunities of the automotive power electronics industry in detail. Yole provides an overview of the technologies, highlights the technical disruptions, and presents detailed market data. The company also delivers a valuable understanding of the value chain, infrastructure, and competitive landscape with an in-depth analysis of the OEMs’ strategies.

The power electronics market is strongly boosted by applications such as inverters, OBC, and DC to DC converters. The penetration of SiC MOSFET modules in main inverters has already started and will be remarkable. These modules will reach 28% CAGR2021-2027, with advantages including fast charging capability, high efficiency, and compactness at device and system levels. The supply-demand balance issue is more acute for SiC, for which capacity is expanding rapidly.

The rapid electrification trend is creating a whole new supply chain, far from conventional internal combustion engines. It includes a new electric powertrain consisting of batteries, e-motors, inverters, and other supportive sub-systems, including OBCs, DC/DC converters, PDUs , and other auxiliaries. For most of the sub-systems, power electronics components are essential.
This attracts a group of new suppliers, some even from industries other than automotive. This ‘invasion’ is more evident in emerging countries and regions, particularly China.
Remarkably, more vehicle-making OEMs are vertically integrating. Some merge the responsibility for systems typically produced by Tier 1 component suppliers into OEMs’ in-house facilities. Some even take over device design and manufacturing, normally the realm of Tier 2 suppliers. The main drivers of this disruptive trend are key product supply chain security and the rather high speed of innovation of BEVs, which is better supported by vertical integration.
The journey towards electrification is exciting. Yet it is still critical for all players to carefully examine their own positions and competencies and work out strategies suitable for the highly dynamic xEV business.