New Automotive Electronics Systems Drive Connector Growth
14.04.2017
The automotive connector market will rise 7.7% per year over the next five years as more vehicles are equipped with infotainment and driver assistance systems.
It’s no secret that the proliferation of electronics systems in vehicles such as collision avoidance, lane-change warning, telematics, LED lighting, backup cameras, and others is resulting in strong demand for a wide range of semiconductors.
In fact, many chipmakers often point to the automotive sector as a bright spot in the industry because demand for sensors, power management ICs, memory chips, LEDs, microcontrollers, discretes, and other chips by automakers is growing, while demand from traditional segments is flat or has slower growth rates.
But the auto industry is having positive impact on connector industry sales, too The proliferation of electronic systems in vehicles is also driving demand for connectors, cable assemblies, and wire harnesses, according to connector manufacturers and industry analysts. As a result, some connector makers are devoting more capacity and resources to the auto industry because of rising demand as the percentage of their total sales from automakers increases.
Strong Auto Connector Growth
“What we are seeing is automotive interconnect is outpacing the rest of the market 2 to 1,” says David Einhorn, business development manager at connector manufacturer Amphenol, based in Wallingford, Conn. “In 2016 while the connector market grew 4%, automotive interconnect grew by about 8%,” he notes.
Einhorn said in recent years automotive has become a more important vertical segment for Amphenol. “Right now, automotive comprises 18% of our sales. Three years ago, the number was 12%. It has been in increasing focus for us that’s for sure,” says Einhorn.
He added that at Amphenol automotive has outpaced every other vertical market. “It is because of organic growth along with our strategic acquisitions,” he says.
Monalisa Berbey, CEO and president of Fleck Research, based in San Clemente, Calif., said the compound annual growth rate for automotive connectors over the next five years will be 7.7%. Sales are expected to rise from $8.7 billion in 2016 to $12.6 billion in 2021, she said. When sales of automotive connector assemblies, backplane assemblies and wire harnesses sales are added to connector revenue, total automotive connector and assembly sales totaled $85 billion in 2016.