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■ Renesas is the industry leader in the automotive MCU sector (Gartner data, 2014). Where do you think the driving force lies?

The annual global automobile production volume is about 88 million units, and Renesas sold about 880 million MCUs in 2014. If we calculate this mathematically, there are more than 10 Renesas MCUs per car. The reason Renesas has maintained its leadership position in the automotive MCU field is 'reliability'. The automotive field prioritizes safety, so it is difficult to change a product once it is applied, and therefore the barrier to market entry is high. Therefore, parts for the automobile industry that must be supplied for more than 10 years after the discontinuation of automobiles must be supplied for 25 years including the development stage. Considering such a long process, only a company that can provide stable supply and service can gain reliability. I think Renesas's strength comes from here.

■ You said that the reason you lead the automotive market is ‘reliability’. Can you give some specific evidence?

The so-called 'Zero defect' refers to a defect rate of less than 1ppm. PPM is a unit created by taking the first letters of 'Part Per Million' and indicates a defect rate of 'one millionth'. This is almost 'zero (0)' as the goal, and Renesas has already achieved 'Zero defect'. Renesas' quality standards are stricter than the automotive semiconductor reliability certification AEC-Q100 standards. Renesas' automotive reliability is also approved for use by automakers without AEC-Q100.


■ I heard that R-car, an infotainment SoC, accounts for 66% of the global market. Could you please explain in more detail?

Since 2000, the cumulative R-car volume has exceeded 140 million units, accounting for 66% of the global market. Previously, the only market for SoC was navigation, but sales have been rapidly increasing since 2009. SoC products that were mainly used in high-performance audio products and navigation are now increasingly being applied to cockpits and ADAS, which have become issues recently, and are growing rapidly. It won't be easy, but protecting this market is also the biggest challenge.

▲ Renesas' Automotive MCU/SoC Global Market Forecast by Field (2013)
(Source: Renesas revenue estimate in each segment based on market potential by strategy Analytics)

Kim Se-yong, Vice President, said, “The powertrain IC process is 40 nanometers and 25 nanometers, accounting for 41% of the world. Chassis currently accounts for 15% of the market, but if we include the products designed for future cars, the market share will increase significantly.” He continued, “As the ADAS market grows in the future, the market share will naturally increase to 40% in 2017,” expressing his expectations.


'Zero defect' with zero defect rate already implemented
Boasting higher quality standards than the safety standard AEC-Q100


■ You claim to be the only company in the industry to be using a 40nm process that achieves both low power consumption and high performance. Could you please explain in more detail?

Currently, most companies are producing using the 90nm process, but Renesas is applying the 40nm process to actual production. Of course, a lower process is not necessarily better. There are advantages and disadvantages. The more advanced the process is used, the higher the development cost, etc. If the IC price goes up, the price competitiveness is lost. Renesas secured performance and price competitiveness by applying the 40nm process optimized for the market requirements. We believe that the performance and price of the 40nm process are competitive.

■ Companies with factories in Japan, such as Renesas, cannot avoid discussing the earthquake issue.

Yes. The Great East Japan Earthquake caused disruption to Renesas' production, so much so that the production lines of automobile companies around the world stopped. As a countermeasure, we have taken sufficient measures to ensure that even if a problem occurs in one place, we can operate a multi-production system by utilizing factories in areas with weak earthquakes or overseas foundries.

■ The most important function of automotive is safety. How does Renesas satisfy this?

The most important thing is 'Functional safety'. In the automotive field, the ASIL level required by ISO26262 proves reliability. Depending on the field, semiconductors require ASIL-A to D levels, and Renesas satisfies the levels in all fields. However, the level is a factor that hinders the performance of the operation. Since the operation is performed and errors are intensively monitored at the same time, the maximum performance is reduced. To compensate for this poor performance, the recent trend is to put in 2 or 4 cores, and Renesas is no exception.






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In ADAS and autonomous vehicles, we plan to provide an integrated cockpit that includes a dashboard and infotainment that drivers can comfortably see, and we are focusing on high-performance parallel processing that can perform multiple functions simultaneously.
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Building infrastructure for long-term standardization and demand
This is also the reason why it has no choice but to become number one in the world.


■ I understand that you use your own cores in automotive products. What are the advantages over other companies that use ARM cores?

The reason Renesas uses its own cores is because it is good at semiconductor design. Any company can be said to be good at design, but Renesas has been leading the market for a long time and understands the direction the automobile industry is pursuing better than anyone else. For example, it has discussed the standardization process from the beginning regarding functional safety required by the standard organization ISO26262, so its technological competitiveness is outstanding. We are proud to say that our know-how and infrastructure are well-established.

■ As communications become more important in the automotive field, it is natural that we cannot avoid talking about security.

Communication provides convenience, but security measures are essential due to malicious intrusions. Currently, automotive security has connections between clouds (V2C), between vehicles (V2V), and within vehicles, but there is no complete standardization, so the trend is toward EVITA. Accordingly, Renesas is responding to the entire EVITA level, including tools.

The ultimate driverless car will have a control system and an information system.
Implementation of integrated 'I-COCKPIT (Integrated Cockpit)'


■ Ultimately, the ultimate goal is a driverless car, so what solution is Renesas preparing?

ADAS and self-driving cars will be provided as an integrated cockpit that includes a dashboard and infotainment that drivers can comfortably see, and they are focusing on high-performance parallel processing that can perform multiple functions simultaneously. In particular, when driving a car, the error range between the current location and the location indicated by the GPS is so large that the error range is more than 10m. This is why autonomous vehicles cannot be made. The keywords are Comfort, Security, and Safety. The information system solution R-car and control system solution will be integrated into a single chip.

■ How specifically do you plan to configure the cockpit?

The functions of this solution include ADAS, cluster, and navigation. Renesas is the only company that has the entire lineup. It can control four displays simultaneously. This is called an 'integrated cockpit'. In other words, it integrates ADAS, infotainment, and cluster. However, there are still many issues to be resolved, such as software safety, systematic separation, and power separation. Technically, the plan is to 'integrate' the performance of the control system and information system into a single chip.

■ Lastly, what is the new automotive market that Renesas is thinking of?

We see growth in the power sector for hybrid and electric vehicles. And we expect that there will be significant development in the fields of perception and connectivity for ADAS.


※What kind of company is Renesas?
Born in 2010 through the integration of Renesas and NEC Electronics
Boasting a wide product lineup in addition to the world's top-class MCU

Renesas Electronics Corporation (English: Renesas Electronics Corporation) is the largest integrated semiconductor manufacturer in Japan, headquartered in Japan. It was established in April 2010 as a result of the management integration of Renesas Technologies, spun off from Mitsubishi and Hitachi, and NEC Electronics, spun off from NEC.

The company name 'Renesas' is an abbreviation for " Re naissance Semiconductor for Advanced Solutions ", a semiconductor that realizes the advancement of the world applied to all systems, and includes the meaning of the revival of the semiconductor industry from Japan to the world. Renesas Electronics Corporation has a wide product lineup centered around microcontrollers that boast the world's top-class market share. The main fields are automotive, industrial/home appliance, and OA/ICT, and the company provides optimal services with increased added value through three types of semiconductor solutions: devices, kits, and platforms.