2016/05/04 Strategy Analytics: NXP Tops Automotive Semiconductor Vendor Rankings

NXP and Freescale Combination Establishes New Leader

Boston, MA - April 29, 2016 - The Strategy Analytics report, “Automotive Semiconductor Vendor 2015 Vendor Market Shares” reveals that NXP achieved a 14.2% share of the $27.4 billion automotive semiconductor market, four percentage points ahead of its nearest rivals Infineon and Renesas.  The analysis also finds that for the first time the vendor semiconductor revenues attributed to the China market overtook those from Japan, reflecting the structural shifts in the global automotive industry.

Last year NXP acquired Freescale, both major automotive semiconductor supplies.  According to Strategy Analytics analysis for the 2015 calendar year the combined entity had automotive semiconductor sales of $3.9 billion, giving it a leading market share of 14.2%.  Furthermore, Infineon retained its #2 position with a 10.4% share while (former 2014 #1) vendor Renesas fell close behind at #3 with a 10.3% share. 

Demand for automotive grade semiconductors continues to grow driven particularly by applications such as ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems), display-based infotainment, advanced powertrain and wireless connectivity.  However in 2015 vendors overall faced some short-term currency and supply-chain headwinds which negatively impacted revenue growth.

According to Chris Webber, VP of the Strategy Analytics Global Automotive Practice, “Despite growth in annual vehicle production and ever increasing electronics penetration automotive semiconductor vendors faced a variety of challenges to US dollar revenue growth in 2015, in particular significant weakening of both the yen and the Euro.  With total revenues already boosted by the acquisition, NXP was less exposed to the negative currency shifts than its nearest rivals undoubtedly thanks to Freescale, which previously had around a third of its automotive business coming directly from North America, whereas Infineon and Renesas had just 17 percent and 12 percent respectively coming from that region.”

Webber added “China already accounts for 26 percent of global light vehicle manufacturing but the gradual expansion of localized automotive electronics manufacturing has now reached a point where semiconductor vendor revenues from China have overtaken those from the mature Japanese market.”

Source: Strategy Analytics