At Yole, analysts estimate, the global market for radars, cameras, LiDARs and computing ADAS should reach US$8.7 billion in 2020. Almost half of this market revenue will be generated by radars with US$3.8 billion, followed by cameras with US$3.5 billion. According to the company, LiDARs will not be significant, accounting for US$0.04 billion and computing ADAS will generate US$1.4 billion.

In this context, Yole released the Sensing and Computing for ADAS vehicle 2020 report.

Under this new report, Yole’s experts have been investigating the industry in order to describe and provide market data on key sensors: Camera, LiDAR, and Radar, including revenue forecast and volume shipments for each sensor type, market shares, with detailed breakdown by player and application focus of each sensor. This report points out an understanding of the main sensors value chains, infrastructure and players. It also presents key technical insights and analysis regarding future technology trends and challenges and offers an understanding of how these sensors work together in a car.

The automotive industry has seen the impact of the coronavirus crisis evolve from a supply shock to a global demand shock. The production of new cars is expected to decline by 30% compared to the 2019 production level. According to the company, the direction of the automotive industry towards the four major trends of connected, autonomous, shared, and electric driving is expected to remain unchanged going forward. However, the speed of adoption might change due to the emergency. Electrification will be a main focus for OEMs as restrictions and associated penalties on CO2 emissions should remain valid.

The second target for OEMs will be related to the development of ADAS for safety and automated driving features. The development of AEB is a step to avoid forward collisions but is still perfectible, as demonstrated by the AAA in October 2019. Automated driving features in traffic jams or on the highway will also be developed by OEMs as consumers are looking for these to ease driving. The development of such features will be a way for OEMs to differentiate themselves. To do so, the addition of more sensors, more computing power, and a new E/E architecture will be required.

Cédric Malaquin, Technology & Market Analyst, RF Devices & Technology from Yole comments: “Audi and Tesla, have both initiated this trend using a combination of radars, cameras, and a LiDAR in Audi’s case. To fuse the data generated, Audi and Aptiv developed a domain controller, the zFAS, for front sensors. Tesla goes one step further in the development of domain controllers with its Autopilot hardware. Autopilot is much more complex and has more functionality, with the ability to perform frequent OTA software updates”.

For example, technology advances dedicated to Audi A8 has been detailed during an interview powered by Junko Yoshida, EETIMES with Romain Fraux, CEO of System Plus Consulting: “…The challenge for automotive manufacturers will no longer be offering the most speed, or the best acceleration from zero to 100 km/h, but to ensure increasingly advanced autonomous driving and assistance systems. This is the goal of the Audi A8, to continue improving level 2 driver assistance systems, using LiDAR technology…”. Full article on i-Micronews.

Without doubts, innovation brought by such features will be a key differentiation factor for OEMs looking to relaunch the market.

With high penetration rates of radars and cameras in cars, the associated market revenues will recover rapidly from the coronavirus crisis.

According to Pierrick Boulay from Yole: “Radar market revenue is expected to surpass 2019’s revenue in 2021 and will reach US$9.1 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 19%. Camera market revenue will also surpass 2019’s revenue in 2021 and will reach US$8.1 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 18%. Market revenue from computing ADAS is expected to reach US$3.5 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 22%”.

LiDAR market revenue is limited today as only one OEM is implementing this sensor as an option in some of its cars. Other OEMs like BMW and Volvo are expected to follow in coming years, but the implementation will remain limited to high-end vehicles, and therefore limited volumes are expected. In this context, LiDAR market revenue is expected to reach US$1.7 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 113%. LiDAR is a complex sensor for OEMs and Tier-1s to integrate while radars and cameras are, at the same time, continuously improving their performance.

ADAS and the automotive industry will see lot of changes in the coming months and years. Pushed by innovations and the integration of new functions, the market will open the door to attractive opportunities and new players. The market research & strategy consulting company will follow this evolution and proposes its vision and analysis through its reports, articles and events.

For more information, visit: Yole Développement