Industry body warns a robust domestic chip market is essential for the future of the UK automotive electronics industry

TechWorks; the UK Deep Tech Trade Association warns that a robust domestic semiconductor market is essential for the continued success of the automotive electronics industry. In his recent Autumn Statement, the chancellor failed to deliver meaningful support for the UK semiconductor industry, which remains in jeopardy as many industry experts raised concerns about the need for long-term policies to support this vital sector.

Currently, the UK automotive electronics & software systems industry contributes over £100 billion to the economy and provides thousands of jobs across the country. Global demand for in-car electronics continues to rise, especially with the surge in the production of electric and hybrid vehicles and these electronics often account for up to 50% of the cost of vehicle production.

Techworks automotive electronics network (AESIN) represents the UK’s automotive electronics industry. Gunny Dhadyalla AESIN director, commented “We are seeing a massive growth in electronics and software fuelled by an appetite for the next generation of user experience. Everything from user interfaces to connectivity to automated vehicles will create new opportunities for the industry. The UK has lost ground on having a globally competitive electronics systems supply base. We must channel our focus on a small number of winning technologies, to become globally competitive. AESIN has targeted four technology areas where we see massive opportunity including sensor technologies (e.g. LIDAR & RADAR) for automated vehicles, user experience and interfaces, power electronics and vehicle architectures.” More