Automotive PCB research: vehicle intelligence and electrification bring about demand for PCBs, and local manufacturers come to the fore.
The share of electronics in curb weight of a vehicle is rising, expectedly up to 34.3% in 2020, which is accompanied by more vehicle entertainment and safety functions and the growth of new energy vehicles. This gives a direct boost to demand for automotive printed circuit boards (PCB).
The COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 slashed the global vehicle sales and led to a big shrinkage of the industry scale to USD6,261 million. Yet the gradual epidemic control has driven the sales up a lot. Moreover, the growing penetration of ADAS and new energy vehicles will favor sustained growth in demand for PCBs, which is projected to outstrip USD12 billion in 2026.
As the largest PCB manufacturing base and also the biggest vehicle production base in the world, China demands a great many of PCBs. By one estimate, China’s automotive PCB market was worth up to USD3,501 million in 2020.
Vehicle intelligence pushes up demand for PCBs.
As consumers demand safer, more comfortable, more intelligent automobiles, vehicles tend to be electrified, digitalized and intelligent. ADAS needs many PCB-based components such as sensor, controller and safety system. Vehicle intelligence therefore directly spurs demand for PCBs.
In ADAS sensor’s case, the average intelligent vehicle carries multiple cameras and radars to enable driving assistance functions. An example is Tesla Model 3 which packs 8 cameras, 1 radar and 12 ultrasonic sensors. On one estimate, the PCB for Tesla Model 3 ADAS sensors is valued at RMB536 to RMB1,364, or 21.4% to 54.6% of total PCB value, which makes it clear that vehicle intelligence boost demand for PCBs.
Vehicle electrification stimulates demand for PCBs.
Differing from conventional vehicles, new energy vehicles need PCB-based power systems like inverter, DC-DC, on-board charger, power management system and motor controller, which directly boosts demand for PCBs. Examples include Tesla Model 3, a model with total PCB value higher than RMB2,500, 6.25 times that of ordinary fuel-powered vehicles.
In recent years, the global penetration of new energy vehicles has been on the rise. Major countries have formulated benign new energy vehicle industry policies; mainstream automakers race to launch their development plans for new energy vehicles as well. These moves will be a major contributor to the expansion of new energy vehicles. It is conceivable that the global penetration of new energy vehicles will ramp up in the years to come.
It is predicted that the global new energy vehicle PCB market will be worth RMB38.25 billion in 2026, as new energy vehicles become widespread and the demand from higher levels of vehicle intelligence favors a growth in PCB value per vehicle.
Local vendors cut a figure in the severer market competition.
At present, the global automotive PCB market is dominated by Japanese players such as CMK and Mektron and Taiwan’s players like CHIN POON Industrial and TRIPOD Technology. The same is true of the Chinese automotive PCB market. Most of these players have built production bases in Chinese Mainland.
In Chinese Mainland, local companies take a small share in the automotive PCB market. Yet some of them already make deployments in the market, with increasing revenues from automotive PCBs. Some companies have a customer base covering the world’s leading auto parts suppliers, which means it is easier for them to secure bigger orders to gain strength. In future they may command more of the market.
Capital market helps local players.
In recent two years, automotive PCB companies seek capital support to expand capacity for more competitive edges. With the backing of capital market, local players will become more competitive as a matter of course.
Automotive PCB products head in high-end direction, and local companies make deployments.
At present, automotive PCB products are led by double-layer and multi-layer boards, with relatively low demand for HDI boards and high frequency high speed boards, high value-added PCB products which will be more in demand in future as demand for vehicle communication and interiors increases and electrified, intelligent and connected vehicles develop.
The overcapacity of low-end products and fierce price war make companies less profitable. Some local companies tend to deploy high value-added products for becoming more competitive.
Research Report on Automotive Memory Chip Industry and Its Impact on Foundation Models, 2025
Research on automotive memory chips: driven by foundation models, performance requirements and costs of automotive memory chips are greatly improved.
From 2D+CNN small models to BEV+Transformer found...
48V Low-voltage Power Distribution Network (PDN) Architecture and Supply Chain Panorama Research Report, 2025
For a long time, the 48V low-voltage PDN architecture has been dominated by 48V mild hybrids. The electrical topology of 48V mild hybrids is relatively outdated, and Chinese OEMs have not given it suf...
Research Report on Overseas Cockpit Configuration and Supply Chain of Key Models, 2025
Overseas Cockpit Research: Tariffs stir up the global automotive market, and intelligent cockpits promote automobile exports
ResearchInChina has released the Research Report on Overseas Cockpit Co...
Automotive Display, Center Console and Cluster Industry Report, 2025
In addition to cockpit interaction, automotive display is another important carrier of the intelligent cockpit. In recent years, the intelligence level of cockpits has continued to improve, and automo...
Vehicle Functional Safety and Safety Of The Intended Functionality (SOTIF) Research Report, 2025
Functional safety research: under the "equal rights for intelligent driving", safety of the intended functionality (SOTIF) design is crucial
As Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers propose "Equal...
Chinese OEMs’ AI-Defined Vehicle Strategy Research Report, 2025
AI-Defined Vehicle Report: How AI Reshapes Vehicle Intelligence?
Chinese OEMs’ AI-Defined Vehicle Strategy Research Report, 2025, released by ResearchInChina, studies, analyzes, and summarizes the c...
Automotive Digital Key (UWB, NearLink, and BLE 6.0) Industry Trend Report, 2025
Digital key research: which will dominate digital keys, growing UWB, emerging NearLink or promising Bluetooth 6.0?ResearchInChina has analyzed and predicted the digital key market, communication techn...
Integrated Battery (CTP, CTB, CTC, and CTV) and Battery Innovation Technology Report, 2025
Power battery research: 17 vehicle models use integrated batteries, and 34 battery innovation technologies are released
ResearchInChina released Integrated Battery (CTP, CTB, CTC, and CTV)and Battery...
AI/AR Glasses Industry Research Report, 2025
ResearchInChina released the " AI/AR Glasses Industry Research Report, 2025", which deeply explores the field of AI smart glasses, sorts out product R&D and ecological layout of leading domestic a...
Global and China Passenger Car T-Box Market Report 2025
T-Box Research: T-Box will achieve functional upgrades given the demand from CVIS and end-to-end autonomous driving
ResearchInChina released the "Global and China Passenger Car T-Box Market Report 20...
Automotive Microcontroller Unit (MCU) Industry Report, 2025
Research on automotive MCUs: the independent, controllable supply chain for automotive MCUs is rapidly maturing
Mid-to-high-end MCUs for intelligent vehicle control are a key focus of domestic produc...
Automotive LiDAR Industry Report, 2024-2025
In early 2025, BYD's "Eye of God" Intelligent Driving and Changan Automobile's Tianshu Intelligent Driving sparked a wave of mass intelligent driving, making the democratization of intelligent driving...
Software-Defined Vehicles in 2025: SOA and Middleware Industry Research Report
Research on automotive SOA and middleware: Development towards global SOA, cross-domain communication middleware, AI middleware, etc.
With the implementation of centrally integrated EEAs, OEM softwar...
Global and Chinese OEMs’ Modular and Common Technology Platform Research Report, 2025
Modular platforms and common technology platforms of OEMs are at the core of current technological innovation in automotive industry, aiming to enhance R&D efficiency, reduce costs, and accelerate...
Research Report on the Application of AI in Automotive Cockpits, 2025
Cockpit AI Application Research: From "Usable" to "User-Friendly," from "Deep Interaction" to "Self-Evolution"
From the early 2000s, when voice recognition and facial monitoring functions were first ...
Analysis on Li Auto’s Layout in Electrification, Connectivity, Intelligence and Sharing, 2024-2025
Mind GPT: The "super brain" of automotive AI Li Xiang regards Mind GPT as the core of Li Auto’s AI strategy. As of January 2025, Mind GPT had undergone multip...
Automotive High-precision Positioning Research Report, 2025
High-precision positioning research: IMU develops towards "domain controller integration" and "software/hardware integrated service integration"
According to ResearchInChina, in 2024, the penetration...
China Passenger Car Digital Chassis Research Report, 2025
Digital chassis research: Local OEMs accelerate chassis digitization and AI
1. What is the “digital chassis”?
Previously, we mostly talked about concepts such as traditional chassis, ch...