US and Europe account for two-thirds of global demand, but China growing faster

Stringent safety regulations driving exponential growth globally.

 Seoul, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Beijing, London, Buenos Aires, San Diego

February 8th, 2019

Based on the latest research by Counterpoint’s Smart Automotive service, the demand for embedded image sensors for passenger cars globally is projected to double by 2023. The shipments of these image sensors will grow at a 19% CAGR, crossing 230 million units by 2023.

Commenting on these analyses, Aman Madhok, Senior Analyst for Smart Automotive stated, “Currently, most cars equipped with (rear) camera use it for basic parking visibility. However, this will begin to change as the industry moves towards the connected car era, with multiple sensors enabling increasing levels of safety and autonomy. Of all the sensors, the camera image sensor is one of the most important to enable greater Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) capabilities in the future.

With rear cameras for basic parking assistance in cars becoming almost a standard feature on newer models, we are now seeing the advent of a higher proportion of cars fitted with front-facing and side cameras to enable enhanced ADAS features. For example, surround view cameras, which are currently an option on higher-end models, will see significant adoption over the next five to six years. The key factors driving this trend are, firstly, government encouraging OEMs to integrate advanced safety features, and, secondly, growing awareness and preference for advanced safety features among customers.

Additionally, with declining ADAS costs, OEMs will look to incorporate features like Autonomous Emergency Braking as standard on mainstream models. And convenience applications like park-assist, are also expected to see fast growth during this period.”

Exhibit 1: Global Automotive Image Sensor Market by Camera Application in Cars (%)

Vinay Piparsania, Research Director for Smart Automotive, further added, “US and Europe together accounted for more than two-thirds of global automotive embedded image sensor shipments in 2018, driven primarily by stringent safety regulations. For example, all cars manufactured after May 2018, are mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the US, to be fitted with rear-view cameras.

With higher adoption of front ADAS camera solutions, by 2023, all new cars sold in the US are likely to have more than three cameras per car.”

Mr. Piparsania added further, “China will emerge to be a leading market for image sensors in the years ahead with its above-average safety regulations relative to other developing economies. In sync with Euro-NCAP standards, C-NCAP will continue to drive higher image sensor fitments per car in China.”

The comprehensive and in-depth Global Automotive Image Sensor Tracker and report are available for purchase on our research portal. Please feel free to reach out to us at press(at)counterpointresearch.com for further questions regarding our in-depth latest research, insights or press enquiries.

Analyst Contacts:

Aman Madhok
+91 9560384548
[email protected]
@madhokaman

Vinay Piparsania
+91 9971005882
[email protected]
@VPiparsania