Gasoline or electric? Hybrid or plug-in. Lithium ion or fuel cell? What will we be driving? It depends on the supply of oil, the price of gasoline, global warming, battery technology and more; but, whatever the outcome, there’s opportunity for semiconductors.
Automobile sales are beginning a recovery from a disastrous slump. Sales will increase more than 3% annually through 2013. That may not seem very high, but it is a terrific number in the automobile industry, especially after the last year. It will lead to much higher semiconductor growth opportunities. For example, the 2008 - 2013 CAGR for hybrid electric vehicle control semiconductor revenue will be 52.8%.
Semiconductor growth opportunities will occur, in part, because the kinds of automobiles being manufactured are going to change dramatically. Cars will be smaller, more fuel efficient, and have alternate power plants. The facts supporting this have become politicized and are hotly disputed; but here are the basics.
Oil supplies are being depleted. The price of gasoline will increase to $10.00 per gallon or more in the US within ten years. Global warming is real; and people are causing it, not some variation in a natural cycle. Automotive emissions are a major contributing factor.
