"Vehicle DRAM Demand Expected to Grow Over 30% Annually on Average for the Next 3 Years"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] As autonomous vehicle development and 5G infrastructure deployment rapidly advance worldwide, the capacity of automotive memory semiconductors is expected to grow at an average annual rate of over 30% for the next three years.

On the 24th, market research firm TrendForce forecasted that based on existing models in the global automotive market, the average capacity of automotive DRAM is expected to reach around 4GB this year. TrendForce explained, "The average DRAM capacity is expected to expand much more significantly this year than what was anticipated in previous years."

Automotive semiconductors are composed of various components depending on their main functions, including microcontroller units (MCU), analog circuits, application processors (AP), and memory. Among these, automotive DRAM, which falls under memory, is used to support multi-OS environments, high-resolution displays, real-time data transmission, and big data processing. Currently, the leader in the automotive memory semiconductor market is the U.S. company Micron, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are also actively developing and producing automotive DRAM.

Automotive memory semiconductors are considered to have high entry barriers compared to other fields due to stringent durability and reliability standards. Automotive DRAM must operate for at least 7 to 10 years in line with vehicle replacement cycles and must withstand extreme climate conditions, requiring an expanded temperature range tolerance. TrendForce analyzed, "Although manufacturing automotive DRAM is more difficult and costly compared to other types of DRAM products, manufacturers compete in this segment due to its high profitability and large potential market."

However, despite this growth trend, the share of automotive DRAM in the overall DRAM market remains minimal. According to the annual global DRAM consumption distribution, smartphones accounted for the largest share at 43.1% in 2019, followed by servers at 30.5%, and PCs at 12.7%, while the automotive memory segment accounted for less than 2% of the total. TrendForce explained that compared to laptops, PCs, and smartphones, automobile sales volumes are lower, and unlike servers which use large amounts of DRAM, automobiles have relatively low DRAM content.