[Automotive chip mastering localization is not easy, and it is a breakthrough to erode from the periphery] ZTE Corporation was banned by the United States and immediately triggered an uproar and lamentations from all walks of life in the country. The lack of “core†in China was exposed nakedly by the public. before. Not only the communications industry, the chip relied heavily on the imported automotive industry, but also faced the danger of being “infringed uponâ€. Although one-third of the world's cars are currently manufactured in China, the embarrassing situation is that almost all chips in the vehicle are dependent on imports. From an autonomous, controllable, and safety point of view, it is equally urgent for autos to control localization. When the ZTE Incident was announced, more and more people in the industry began to reflect on the question: When can the auto master chip achieve domestic autonomy?
It is not easy to control localization, and it can start to erode from peripheral devices.
Throughout the world, NXP, Infineon, STMicroelectronics and other large-wave chip companies have grown rapidly, and have strong technical strength, occupying most of the market share. On the other hand, there are very few chips designed for automobile regulations. Although the country has introduced various preferential policies to vigorously promote the localization process of chips, it is not easy to cross over in the face of towering technology and market barriers.
“It reminds me of the growth of Lenovo ten years ago. We also thought about when the PC's main control chip CPU can be made domestically. When will the memory be made domestic? It has been a decade or two before, or is it not? I am equally pessimistic about the automotive industry. Maybe we have to wait until we can do our own CPU and memory, and the localization of the car's main control chip can be realized." Talking about this topic, Walden International Partner Wang Lin thinks quite Conservative, although the agency also invested in nearly 20 automotive chip companies.
Judging from past experience, even if the localization of consumer computer CPUs is a tortuous path, let alone automotive chips with higher reliability and safety requirements. When Wang Lin recalled that he had communicated with an SAIC executive, the executive's indignation filled in: “Don’t look at our electric cars doing so much, but if Infineon doesn’t supply IGBTs to us, we’re not able to drive a car. To the new energy vehicle, the most important component of the motor drive is the IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), which accounts for about half the cost of the motor drive system and also determines the energy of the vehicle. effectiveness. Regardless of the main control components and power components of the automobile, it is an indisputable fact that the domestic automobile industry has been “snabbed†by foreign semiconductor manufacturers.
"How many years have China's IGBTs been able to break through? I think it will take at least 5-10 years," Wang Lin said. "Similarly, for the localization of the main control chip, this thing is not saying there is no hope. We are still working hard, but don't want to be short." There are too many homework that we owe and we have to make up for too many problems.â€
The Chinese core has a place in consumer applications such as smartphones and security monitoring. However, the situation in the automotive industry is obviously different. The automobile is more complicated than the smart phone and other consumer industry chains, and requires stricter requirements and longer test cycles. In industries where the threshold is even higher, domestic automotive chip makers need to have a "useful place" and obviously need a "long-term tough fight."
"So we don't necessarily have to be so anxious," said Sun Hao, CEO of Shanghai Hao Rui Technology Co., Ltd., currently the industry is a bit too anxious about the localization of automotive chips. "International manufacturers have been doing it for 30 to 40 years and we now hope to make In three to four years, this is not in line with the law of development. Others have spent a lot of time and experience in accumulating technology. It is not scientific if we do it.
Zhang Yiongong, chief technology officer of Beijing Zhongxing Micro Artificial Intelligence Chip Technology Co., Ltd., said that he can use the “curve seeking country†strategy. He pointed out that the safety and reliability of automotive chips is the top priority. With the current technical strength, this market is really impossible. Whale, but can continue to localize from peripheral chips, slowly infiltrate the core of the main control chip, gradually eroded.
"Many chips including sensors are used in cars. For example, using hundreds of small radars to sense objects, collect data, and start using AI naturally for more data, the importance of AI chips may be more important than automatic driving. The main control chip is even more important," said Zhang Yinong. "Beginning with the sensor and then following the AI ​​chip, if so many devices begin to use domestically-made chips slowly, full localization may be achieved in five to ten years."
"What is certain is that the chance of doing sensors and peripherals is still relatively large." Wang Lin also expressed support for this. Walden International has invested in a company that researches and develops automotive tire pressure sensors - Ningbo Jiejie. Not long ago, this company released what it called the first domestic vehicle gauge pressure sensor (TPMS) chip, which is currently available. Production and receipt of front-loading orders confirmed the viability of eating from the periphery.
"This will be a ladder-type process. We can start from the periphery or from other places. First of all, let customers trust this product, and then slowly switch to a more important place. There are three points that must be noted: First, we have to Doing a good job of product definition, the product itself has a long product definition cycle, and the car is longer. We need to be more closely linked to the market and work with customers to define the product; secondly, to provide a good system solution; third, product quality. There is a guarantee that we cannot treat our customers as mice.†Li Mengxiong, founder and chief executive officer of the company, talked about the process gradually accepted by customers: “After doing a product, customers have trust in your product, quality system and design. It is recognized that follow-up needs will continue to find you. After our first product was shipped, customers found us, and we also hope that we help them with something, for example, we are preparing to develop the second generation of intelligent systems, just for them There is also an urgent need.For example there is a chip, the customer's foreign suppliers are out of stock for 8 weeks, this product and I Our products are similar and they very much hope to have secondchoice, which is also a good opportunity for us to enter their supply chain."
The lack of reliability and system delivery capability are pain points
Compared with consumer electronic chips, automotive-grade chips have very strict and harsh technical and quality requirements for products. "If car chips are to be made domestically, they can start from vehicles that won't cause security accidents," Guan Zhen, chief technical advisor of Microsoft (China) Co., Ltd., is very doubtful about the reliability of domestic car chips. It is easy to localize, and the low end here is best used in rural areas and will not cause any safety accidents. We can surround the city from the countryside, this strategy is normal, even if we have developed a chip that we can control independently. For a certain brand of car, I believe no one would dare to buy nobody to dare to open. So I can't go to the city in the beginning, or no one can dare to resist the responsibility and no one can afford it."
As described by Guan Zhen, automotive chips involve personal safety and demand for product reliability is very high. Even if domestic chip companies have the ability to produce car-level chips, vehicle companies are not afraid to try, not to mention autonomous vehicle-mounted chips. Start.
Nowadays, it is almost impossible to complete the domestic substitution of the core automotive chips. Therefore, many domestic manufacturers start from seemingly less "core" car entertainment systems, hoping to transfer the experience accumulated in consumer electronics to the car. "Even if some products in automotive electronics are consumer-grade, it does not mean that the demand will be reduced." Chen Qian, vice president of Huami (Beijing) Information Technology Co., Ltd. points out, "For example, the BMW entertainment system, the whole machine manufacturers also If you don't change it, it will affect his brand. Even consumer products must meet the unique requirements of automotive electronics."
For example, the general consumer electronics operating temperature is between -20 degrees and 70 degrees, the operating temperature of the onboard chip must meet -40 degrees to 85 degrees, but also can withstand the impact of cold and heat shock, electromagnetic compatibility, anti-jamming and other pressure . The DPPM specification for consumer electronics is 100-200, but automotive electronics is 0. x% DPPM, close to 0.
"We must first do a good job of product reliability." Sun Hao also said, "We think that the car entertainment system electronics can easily enter the direction, but the entertainment system is also to automotive standards, and the power system is similar, but also need to achieve vehicle regulations Standards, so we must first enhance our capabilities and new opportunities, so that we can have access."
Domestic production of automotive chips that want to enter the supply chain at all levels of vehicle manufacturers must achieve two major certifications. The first is to meet the AEC-Q100 (IC) reliability standards of the North American automotive industry; the second is to meet the quality of the supply chain. Management standard ISO/TS16949 specification. “This process requires more experience and time to accumulate.†Li Mengxiong said, “Like this product we experienced 168 days of chip prototype design simulation, 12 version of the underlying firmware update, 586 days of reliability testing and certification, 126 The harsh road test of the day can be put into mass production, because it is related to safety and reliability is the first consideration."
Li Mengxiong also pointed out that the passing vehicle certification is not difficult for domestic chip manufacturers, but it is not impossible to achieve. After designing products that meet the vehicle regulatory standards, the delivery capability is also a major challenge. Therefore, in addition to reliability, the lack of domestic chip makers is also the entire system delivery capability. “What we lack is not a master chip, but the ability to understand and deliver the car’s entire system. Compared to consumer chips, after the automotive chip is designed and produced, the delivery to customers will face more challenges. The delivery of automotive-grade chips is very troublesome, the entire quality management system is very complicated, and there are so many documents delivered to automakers that Chinese manufacturers are lacking in the ability to deliver complete systems. So whether it's a master or a sensor, before designing again, what we need is Understand the entire automotive system, including understanding customers' FEMA, PPAP, APQP, etc."
On the one hand, domestic chip manufacturers need to repair technical strengths, delivery capabilities, and understanding of the entire vehicle system. On the other hand, vehicle manufacturers must not be lacking. “The focus of automotive chips is in Europe, and the United States does not have a lot of car chips. Because the German car relationship is there and the market is there, it has driven a series of first-tier suppliers and it has also driven Infineon and NXP.†Said, "I think the domestic needs a similar process. Now BYD and Geely have done very well. If they drive our Tier 1 suppliers up, they will eventually drive up the upstream chip industry, the sensor industry, or be the master chip. stand up."
Incremental market and AI field are domestic chip opportunities
With the advent of automotive intelligence, car networking, and autonomous driving, the use of automotive chips will become even more widespread. More and more sensors and intelligent chips with integrated AI functions such as neuron networks and deep learning will be available in automobiles. Get applied. For domestic auto electronics related manufacturers, it is undoubtedly an opportunity to be lost. Because in these new areas, we don't have to worry about "probabilizing our skills," but we can all be on the same starting line, from scratch, from strong to strong.
Sun Changxu, partner of Xiaomi Industry Investment Department, pointed out: "We don't need to always think of grabbing other people's strong things. This is impossible. People are already a lot stronger than us. We want to surpass others in the main control. This is Things that cannot happen in ten or twenty or even fifty years.The CPU of people has been under control for decades and it will be difficult to surpass them unless the government imposes orders to require localization and does not allow imports, otherwise no users are willing to go There is no need to do it, this is a waste of resources, originally technology is a national border, and we should think more about what humanity needs and what we have not yet done, and we need to do what we have not done. What we need to do is to differentiate ourselves and work diligently in a number of new markets, new businesses, and technical directions.We are numerous, diligent, and the state supports. In these areas, we are likely to win and exceed others. â€
Take 5G as an example. At present, domestic and foreign technologies are basically in the same starting line. Huawei and other domestic companies are even more advanced and lead the development of this industry. Wang Liqiang, Chief Expert of terminal chip platform planning of Huawei Terminal Co., Ltd., agrees with this view: “Incremental in emerging fields, the threshold is the same for incumbents or new entrants, or the difference is not so great. The new entrants have the opportunity, and this increase can also be a relatively high-end product. For example, the previous car was not connected to the network, and now Hass's 4G module has been incorporated into the European vehicle industry."
The auto-driving field is also a very good opportunity for Chinese manufacturers to overtake the curve. Chen Qian said that now we are in a very revolutionary stage of driving. If our goal is only aimed at the mastermind, then it may completely fall behind five years later. Therefore, we must look at this issue from the overall system. For example, in addition to the entertainment system, there is also the Internet of Vehicles, including the interconnection between cars and cars, the interconnection between cars and equipment, etc. This is a very important part of autonomous driving. . “With sensors, cameras, laser radars, etc., it is still not enough to meet the needs of autopilot. There must be an interaction between the car and the surrounding environment, including the interaction between cars and cars. This involves 5G applications. To connect the interfaces, all of them need to put them together to make a whole consideration. It is impossible to stare at only one MCU. Integrating sensor fusion and automatic driving, our IC still has a good chance."
"In the automotive sector, there are still many opportunities to make incremental markets, not just chips. Audi once stated at last year's ARM Partner Conference that cars are no longer the engine business, not even the electronics business, but software and Service business. These are opportunities for domestic manufacturers." Wang Liqiang said.
"In the AI ​​and ADAS fields, our starting line is the same. The characteristics of AI are data. Whoever has the data has the right to speak. The Chinese have the most and the data is the most. This is where our strengths lie." Sun Changxu added: " AI training needs data. It is very likely that after five years and ten years, foreign AI EQ will not be as high as we are. We can do better than them."
The increase in computing power/GPU, training data, DNN architecture speech, and deep algorithm improvements have driven AI to an erupting stage. The technology of domestic manufacturers is used in certain applications such as people. Face recognition has reached the stage of commercialization, so Chen Qian pointed out, "We do not need to focus on the GPU, we can focus on the application of data. Because we have no more talent in the algorithm than the United States, the AI ​​algorithm is a very important part, There is still a chance for this Chinese company."
Although it is cautious and pessimistic about the localization of automotive chips, Guan Zhen also believes that the combination of chips and application scenarios with artificial intelligence is our strength. We don't have to bend overtaking, and it is even a big step forward.
Distribution Cable,Fiber Optic Cable,Mulitifiber Fiber Optic Cable,Distribution Optical Cable
ShenZhen JunJin Technology Co.,Ltd , https://www.jjtcl.com