Chinese Microcontroller Market to Expand by Two Thirds by 2015

March 30, 2011 -- Owing to a strong industrial sector and rising sales of consumer electronics devices, China’s microcontroller (MCU) market is expected to reach $4.7 billion in revenue by 2015, up more than two-thirds from $2.8 billion in 2010, according to new IHS iSuppli research.

“Government plans designed to stimulate growth in the electronics business helped the China MCU market post robust growth last year, up 40 percent from $1.9 billion in 2009,” said Alex Liu, analyst for China electronics research at IHS. “Those initiatives, along with a strong recovery in spending from consumers and in the industrial sector, will help to expand the China MCU market to $4.7 billion by 2015. Other forms of support from Beijing include a $600 billion investment in the country’s infrastructure and emerging technologies, subsidies for home appliances and automobiles and stimulus programs for green technology.”

Together, the government’s moves helped mitigate the global economic downturn of late 2008 and 2009 in the China MCU space, which experienced a 12 percent decline during the period. While better than the worldwide decline for MCUs of 23 percent, the decrease in China came as a blow to its once-growing market.

Prospects are upbeat once again, however, and MCUs are back on a path of solid expansion in the world’s most populous country.

Industrial Strength

The largest market for MCUs in China is the industrial sector. In 2010, MCU revenue in this segment amounted to $783 million, which came from greater requirements of industry equipment for MCUs, particularly in information management, data processing and communication.

Consumer electronics also surged to become the second largest segment for MCUs in China, finding their way into products such as home appliances, televisions, video game consoles and audio systems. As a result, the consumer electronics market for MCUs will rise at a 10 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the next five years.

Automotive Makes Gains

While the industrial and consumer segments formed the largest markets, the fastest-growing segment for China MCU consumption in 2010 came from automotive, with revenue rising 82 percent from 2009. In 2010, China’s auto market became the world’s largest region for vehicles, and the country emerged as an important base for producing automotive electronic devices, with 20 percent market share worldwide.

With a number of automotive electronics vendors establishing joint ventures and design centers in China, MCU revenue for automotive electronics will achieve a 16.5 percent CAGR from 2011 to 2015.

Higher-Bit MCUs Obtaining Traction

The largest market in the foreseeable future for the China MCU market will be the 8-bit devices that are used in the consumer, data processing and industrial segments. However, 8-bit MCUs gradually will lose share in various markets to higher-bit MCUs with their better performance and lower costs. Furthermore, frequency conversion technology has been growing in sectors such as green energy and home appliances, which will benefit sales of higher-bit MCUs in the coming years.

Learn More > IHS iSuppli China Market Research