The price tag of automotive electronics: What’s really at play?
Carolyn Mathas -September 25, 2017
One of the first articles I wrote was on the cost of electronics in passenger cars. It was the early 1990s, and the cost per vehicle hovered near 15% of sales price. That figure pales, however, when looking at the predicted 50% of cost that is expected by 2030.
Figure 1 Automotive electronics cost as a share of total car cost from 1950 to 2030. (Source: Statistica)
There are reasons why, in each decade since 1970, there is an explosion in vehicle electronics growth, especially in the U.S. The oil embargo of the 1970s, competitive pressures from offshore, and advances in a myriad of technologies.
Reactive growth
Early on, most of the growth in electronics was in reaction to events. For example, during the oil embargo, fuel prices rose astronomically. It was clear that if cars were to consume less fuel, they would have to be constructed from lighter materials, be smaller – requiring miniaturization of all systems – and be fuel-efficient.
This put pressure on energy-saving features. Unfortunately for the American manufacturer that continued to build gas-guzzling cars, this realization came from outside the country. Toyota, Honda, and Volkswagen successfully delivered what the U.S. car buyer needed, and Michigan was slow to catch up.
Advances in technology began to catch up with reality, and grew to include:
- Microprocessors, which enabled new automotive applications. Ignitions and fuel injection were electronically controlled, providing lower emissions and greater fuel economy.
- Engine control units (ECU) were developed that now include modular transmission control and engine control modules. Up to 50 engine parameters are used, measuring pressure, temperature, flow, engine speed, oxygen level, and NOx levels. ECU outputs connect to up to 30 actuators, for the throttle valve, EGR valve, rack, fuel injector, etc. ECUs and transmission control share data, sensor, and control signals for transmission operation.
- Electric car electronics handle engine management, climate, propulsion, antilock braking, passive safety systems, navigation, battery system management, etc.
- Sensor technology advances and signal processing algorithms provide the groundwork for a variety of new systems.
- Autonomous cars incorporate advanced sensors, networking, and navigation systems.
- Several chassis subsystems are actively controlled, including anti-lock brakes, traction control systems, electronic brake distribution, and electronic stability.
- Passive safety is electronically controlled and includes air bags, hill descent control, and emergency brake assist systems.
- Driver assistance, passenger comfort, and infotainment systems are the latest to be designed and implemented. These groundbreaking segments are having a major impact on vehicles and price tags.
Many of the innovations took place and continue to do so as the governments mandate increasingly stringent energy and environmental standards. These regulations increase complexity and prompt the creation of additional systems. Sensors, in particular, have experienced major growth as the need for real-time control and feedback was introduced.
Figure 2 The impact on vehicle cost resulting from greater automotive electronic content. (Source: Freescale Semiconductor)
Consumer demand vs. government control
Both government involvement and customer demand for greater automatic control of systems has led to increased levels of electronics in vehicles. For several years before and throughout the financial crisis, the automotive market was in a downturn. Even though sales ebb and flow, a strong U.S. lobby continues to spend huge amounts pushing through favorable legislation. GM spent approximately $8.5 million on federal lobbying in 2014, down from $11.1 million in 2011. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers spent nearly $6.7 million in 2014, while Ford spent $4.5 million.
Since the 1990s, GM employees and PACs have spent than $12.3 million on federal political candidates and committees. And auto dealers outspend manufacturers. In 2014, for example, the National Auto Dealers Association contributed more to political candidates than Ford, GM, and Toyota combined.
Case in point—the House of Representatives just passed a bill called the SELF DRIVE Act, with bipartisan support, establishing a basic federal framework for autonomous vehicle regulation. The bill passed with a two-thirds vote, and now the Senate will need to pass its version before it will become law.
Because there was no congressional oversight of self-driving vehicle testing on public roads, states created no less than 21 often conflicting state laws and guidelines with inconsistencies as to purpose, definitions, and priorities. The tech and automotive industries want to be able to test their cars on all roads. Others think that given that the industry is still early in autonomous vehicle design, it’s premature to have the federal government interfere.
What passed is that federal rules override state laws and rules. The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has the power to regulate vehicle design, construction, and performance, and states maintain vehicle registration and licensing without governing what is inside the vehicle. The NHTSA has 24 months to create safety certification rules for automakers. Under this bill, the companies involved must also create privacy plans that describing how they will collect, use, and store data.
The NHTSA can grant 2,500 FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) exemptions each year. The new legislation increases that number to 25,000; 50,000 by year two, and by years three and four, 100,000.
The point about what the government is doing to pave the way for autonomous vehicles is that electronic content will continue to get a boost – a quite substantial one. The demand, however, isn’t coming from the consumer. They will not be beating down the doors of car dealers to get their hands on a self-driving car if the surveys are correct.
While electronic content is increasing in response to demands for ever more vehicle systems, the public is still insisting that they ultimately want control left in their hands. Maybe electronic content demand should let people catch up until they are comfortable with the little control they will retain.
Also see:
- Teardown reveals Chevy Volt's electronic secret
- Engineer shares how to build an electric vehicle from the ground up: Design choices
- Driver-aware ADAS – The next step towards autonomous vehicles
- Rolling Connectivity: Automotive RF communications
- Automotive electronics: What's hot in 2012
- Teardown: High-voltage Li-ion battery stack management - the drive for safe power
- Ethernet could consolidate automotive networks
- When can a sensor be used in an automotive system?
- ADAS takes greater control in 2015
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