As electric cars have been the driving force behind the changing automotive industry, South Korea should foster competitiveness in the automotive semiconductor industry, a local think tank said Monday.

In its report, the Korea Automotive Technology Institute says there is a need for Korean companies to gear up to meet the rising demands of automotive semiconductors, as cars are developing into “moving IT machines” with new technologies such as self-driving and electric powertrains.

“While some Korean companies, with Samsung Electronics in the lead, have started to enter the automotive semiconductors market with auto parts such as telematics control unit, the local industry is still weak overall and local automakers are heavily relying on imports (of the chips),” the report said.

The automotive chip market, which has revolved around microcontrollers, has become more diverse with the advancement of technology bringing in new features, such as infotainment systems, advanced driver assistance systems and electric powertrains.

The number of semiconductors used for cars are also increasing. In gas and diesel-powered cars, about 200 to 300 semiconductors are used. But for self-driving vehicles of autonomous level 3 or higher, up to 2,000 semiconductors are thought to be needed, KATECH said.

Due to the changing trend, companies specializing in electronics and IT that have partnered with semiconductor foundries have jumped into the market, leading to a major shakeup in market share rankings.

Data showed that five major companies -- NXP Semiconductors, Infineon Technologies, Renesas Electronics, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics -- took 73 percent of the market share in 2017, but the figure dropped to 49 percent in 2019, according to KATECH.

Highlighting the increasing role of semiconductors in cars, KATECH said the government and companies should foster competitiveness in the high value-added industry, before the technology barrier heightens.

The institute also said the country needs to establish its own engineering tests and certification systems to test functional safety of the chips.

The world automotive chip market, which was valued at $41.8 billion in 2019, is expected to expand to $65.5 billion in 2024, IHS Markit, a London-based data analysis firm said.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)