The global market for automotive semiconductors is expected to grow 7.1 percent annually by 2020, fueled by strong investment by carmakers into electric and self-driving cars, according to a market estimate on Sunday.
With semiconductor demand for cars growing, Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. have expanded their automotive semiconductor businesses.
Research firm Gartner recently predicted that the global market for automotive chips would grow to US$42.4 billion in 2020 from $32.3 billion last year. The projected growth rate is higher than the growth forecast for the overall semiconductor market, which is expected to grow 3.7 percent annually to $393.3 billion in 2020.
Last month, Samsung Electronics said it will supply chipsets for an in-car entertainment system to Audi. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is the latest move by Samsung to make inroads into automotive technology.
Samsung's chipset known as "Exynos" will be used in Audi's in-vehicle "infotainment" system that allows drivers to enjoy a variety of audio, video and navigation services through the global positioning system.
SK hynix has supplied automotive memory chips to Nvidia Corp. of the United States since 2012.