With an eye on the potential of the automotive electronics sector, the Taipei CarTronics Promotion Office organized CarTronics Taipei 2006, which, when it took place at the Taipei World Trade Center Aug. 17-20, turned out to be the largest auto electronics exposition in Asia. The TCPO was established jointly by six local organizations: the Taipei Computer Association, Taiwan Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Association, Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association, Taiwan Mold and Die Industry Association, Chan Chao International Enterprise Group and Topology Research Inc.
According to the TCPO, due to rapid increases in car use, particularly in China, India and Russia, the predicted need for automobiles is set to rise from around 60 million units annually at present, to around 70 million units in 2008. Meanwhile, traditional mechanical technology cannot match society's demands for safer, more environmentally friendly and more comfortable automobiles, while at the same time, in the car electronics sector, recent developments and applications have resulted from dynamic interaction between the automobile and IT industries.
As for the potential value of this emerging sector, the Boston-based consulting firm Strategy Analytics estimated that it is set to increase from US$134.1 billion last year, to US$163.5 billion in 2008 and US$180.0 billion in 2010. Moreover, the firm estimated that, while electronics accounted for 24 percent of a new car's value in 2002, this is expected to increase to 35 percent by 2010. Indeed, this percentage-electronics figure is often regarded as an indicator of the quality of a modern car.
Nevertheless, as the TCPO pointed out in a press release, although the local car electronics sector generated a market value of only around US$1.5 billion last year, which represented just slightly more than 1 percent of the global total, it is well-posed for huge improvements in the future.
At the launch of the trade show, TTVMA Chairman Liu Yi-cheng suggested that, as long as Taiwan's automotive and IT industries can integrate each other's advantages and resources as a coalition, the automotive electronics sector will very likely develop to generate billions of US dollars. It is not enough that Taiwan has shown the world its remarkable capability in the IT sector over recent years, he said, because the automobile sector is different in many aspects from the IT sector. Therefore, what is important is to find an appropriate cut-in point.
At the Taipei CarTronics Forum held simultaneously with the trade show, Jet Su, deputy general-director of the Mechanical and Systems Research Laboratories of the Industrial Technology Research Institute pointed out that the cut-in point being targeted by most IT companies is the adjustment of current applications to make them applicable to automobiles.
For example, following the launch of MP3 players about six years ago, car audio equipment began to be designed to include the MP3 player function three years ago. Similarly, iPod players have dominated world markets for three years, while new cars have recently begun to be equipped with interfaces applicable to iPod devices.
Su suggested, therefore, that "companies attempting to share a big slice of the car electronics market must follow their predecessors, which had focused on transforming existing 3C products and making them suitable for use in cars." After markets for the relevant technologies are mature, upgrading electronic gadgets for cars would represent the next step, Su said.
The main difference between car electronics and ordinary IT electronics is that the former have to be customized in accordance with different target markets, while the latter can be made on a globally applicable scale. Due to difficulties involved in such customization, only a few IT manufacturers are currently devoted to the car electronics market. In Taiwan these include Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., AUO Corp., Lite-On Technology Corp., MiTAC International Corp. and BenQ Corp., as well as the large-scale carmakers Yulon Motor Co. and China Motor Corp.
The nation's largest carmaker, Yulon, which was founded in 1953, came out with the TOBE solution in 2002 to tap the auto electronics market. This telemetric platform transmits data through the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) technology and provides anti-theft and call-center services, as well as offering up-to-the-minute information such as weather forecasts and reports on traffic and road conditions. Liu said at the expo that buyers from Dubai have shown much interest in the TOBE system. Though refusing to give further details, Yulon was reported by local media on Aug. 17 as planning to set up a venture with a Dubai partner as a springboard for the Middle East market.
Similarly, according to another Aug. 17 news report, Hon Hai, the world's leading electronics manufacturing service provider--which currently has three automobile electronics plants and one automobile component plant in China--is planning to set up a partnership with Toyota Motor Corp., the largest automobile manufacturer in Asia. Responding to this report, Allen Cheng, a TRI researcher, told a local media that domestic carmakers would prefer to seek cooperation with specialized electronics companies rather than keep relying on their partners for such technical matters, as a way to break into the car electronics market.
Inside the TWTC, what most caught visitors' imagination and the media's attention was a PC developed especially for in-car use by Nangang-based Isolock Tech Co. Traditional desktop computers are too large for cars, and the heat typical in a car can easily cause computers to crash. Laptops, on the other hand, are vulnerable to shock and their battery capacity is often not adequate. Having taken a long look at these problems, Isolock founder Hsieh Wen-yuan said at the show, "I tried to design a set of automobile-oriented computers exclusively for use in any vehicle. They feature shock-proof, effective heat dissipation, touch screen interface and wireless Internet connection service." The company's instinctively named CAR-PC can, therefore, guide drivers using built-in GPS, allow them to browse digital photos, play MP3 or MP4 files, connect wirelessly to Web sites, check personal e-mails and turn their vehicles into home theaters equipped with a DVD player and quality speakers, Hsieh said.
Taichung-based Kuan Teng Automobile Co. Ltd. started to market its new IC-controlled fuel-saving device earlier this month after 30 years of experience in the car industry. According to Kuan Teng VP Oliver Wang, the Digital Fuel Saver oxygen sensor is the only computerized system to help adjust the air and gas inputs to make fuel consumption more efficient, and can help ordinary vehicles consuming unleaded gasoline to save up to 50 percent of their fuel.
Furthermore, the Taiwan government will invest US$153.8 million by 2010 to assist the development of a local intelligent vehicle industry, a Science and Technology Advisory Group spokesperson said at a July 19 news briefing. "Intelligent vehicles" refers to vehicles furnished with a series of multimedia digital systems, such as head-up displays--which display data without blocking the user's view--and car navigation and voice control systems. While enjoying the entertainment facilities inside this kind of car, drivers will be able to do business or monitor what is happening in the house and office.
The government's assistance and investment, mainly from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, aim to assist the local automotive industry to manufacture intelligent cars, increase the added value of auto parts and components, boost vehicle's information services and construct an intelligent mobile environment that ensures drivers' safety and convenience, said Wang Ting-an, executive secretary of the group. By gathering industry experts, academics and government officials together, the government ultimately attempts to bring the nation's IT advantages to bear in the related intelligent vehicle sector, and thus make Taiwan a leader in what is tipped to be the next global trend.