Electric vehicle demand in 2020 is expected to increase by 30% compared to 2019.
Real-time control capabilities are crucial for electric vehicle EDT MCUs.
Infineon to Supply ASIL-D Compliant MCUs


The Biden administration officially began its work on the 20th. Unlike former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, who is more concerned about climate change, has pledged to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 and signed an executive order to replace government vehicles with American-made electric vehicles.

Additionally, the European Union (EU) raised the average carbon dioxide emissions standard for automobiles from 130 grams per kilometer to 95 grams per kilometer starting this year, imposing fines of 95 euros per gram for exceeding the limit. In response, major global automakers, including GM in the US and Volkswagen in Germany, have announced their intention to transition to electric vehicles.

The automotive industry is shifting its focus from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. This shift is driven not only by environmental concerns but also by automakers' desperate search for new growth engines.

In 2020, global automobile demand fell 15% year-on-year to 76.5 million units due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, demand for electric vehicles (EVs) increased 30% year-on-year to 2.8 million units. Furthermore, the stock price of Tesla, a specialized EV manufacturer, soared ninefold in 2020 alone.

According to IHS Markit, global demand for electric vehicles is projected to increase to 11.2 million units in 2025 and 31.1 million units in 2030, accounting for approximately 32% of all new car sales. To remain competitive in the automotive market, companies must strengthen their diverse electric vehicle capabilities. This also includes the selection of electrical components to be installed in electric vehicles and the MCU products that control them.

“In the past, many consumers were hesitant to purchase electric vehicles due to long charging times, short driving ranges, and a lack of charging stations,” said Kim Haram, deputy manager in charge of MCU support at Infineon Technologies Korea’s Automotive Business Unit. “However, with the advancement of overall technology, the efficiency of electric vehicles is increasing, and as the public increasingly values environmental friendliness, the market is on a growth path.”

Electric vehicles are equipped with electronically controlled devices, including high-voltage batteries, power converters, and high-capacity inverter motors, features not found in internal combustion engine vehicles. Infineon collectively refers to the controllers required to operate electric vehicles as the Electric Drive Train (EDT). The controllers within the EDT are responsible for not only electric vehicle performance but also safety and security, requiring stable, real-time, and highly efficient computation.

◇ Electric vehicle MCU that internalizes the external component functions of an internal combustion engine MCU

Currently, Infineon continues to supply MCUs for powertrain controllers for internal combustion engine vehicles. Vice President Kim stated, “Internal combustion engine MCUs require high specifications,” adding, “This is because they must integrate multiple complex signals to determine the status and precisely control the timing of fuel injection into the engine, compression, combustion, exhaust, etc. based on a large amount of data.”

MCUs for electric vehicle EDTs and MCUs for internal combustion engine powertrain controllers have different requirements. "Internal combustion engine MCUs must incorporate peripherals that minimize the computation of complex signals, while electric vehicle MCUs require significant real-time control capabilities, such as high-performance timers and analog-to-digital converters," explained Deputy Director Kim.

Vice President Kim Haram said, “In preparation for the expansion of the electric vehicle market, Infineon is mass-producing high-frequency PWMs corresponding to high-voltage DC/DC converters, accelerators that accelerate calculations, and ADCs (Analog-to-Digital Converters) that enable fast conversion with low noise.”

He added, “We are helping to reduce the BOM (Bill of Materials) of electric vehicle and electrical equipment manufacturers by eliminating many analog components that were previously installed outside the MCU and replacing their roles with functions inside the MCU and digitizing them.”

◇ We will supply MCUs that meet the latest safety, security, and other requirements.

EDT is responsible for the performance of electric vehicles as well as their safety and security. “While EDT has not required much security and safety so far, applications developed in the future will require functional safety at the ISO 26262 ASIL-D level,” said Vice President Kim. “As the OTA (Over The Air) function, which updates software wirelessly, is applied, an even higher level of security will also be required.”

“Infineon is providing safety and verifiable documentation to manufacturers developing electric vehicle applications based on its electric vehicle EDT MCUs to help them meet ASIL-D standards,” said Kim Haram, Vice President.

Major domestic and international auto and electronics manufacturers are striving to keep pace with these trends. "Infineon maintains close relationships with them," explained Vice President Kim. "We are striving to build a 'P2S (Product to System)' model, developing high-quality semiconductors that meet the latest requirements and providing consistent technical support to supply products tailored to the system."

◇ We are developing accelerators and other devices for smooth in-vehicle communication.

Infineon currently competes in the automotive semiconductor market with companies like NXP Semiconductors of the Netherlands, Renesas Electronics of Japan, and Texas Instruments of the United States. What will Infineon's strategy be to differentiate itself from its competitors in the future electric vehicle market?

“As important as improving MCU performance is leading manufacturers to save on development costs and time,” said Vice President Kim Haram. “Infineon is striving to improve MCU performance while maintaining core genes even as generations change.” It provides hardware and software compatibility, allowing manufacturers to save development time and cost.

In addition, Vice President Kim Haram stated, “We are providing or developing various types of communication routing accelerators and related accelerators that can reduce computational load to enable efficient communication and exchange with the AP (Application Processor), which is important in the domain or zone controllers that will be used in the future.”