Infineon’s auto electronics grows faster than the market
Strategy Analytics indicates that Infineon's sales revenue in this market rose to US $1.525 billion from US $1.363 billion in 2004, which gave it a 9.3 % share of the global market and enabled it to strengthen its solid number two position. Infineon maintained its standing as the uncontested market leader in Europe with a market share of 14.8 %, and also expanded its market share to 7.9 % in the USA, where it is number three.
Being number six in Japan, Infineon has become the leading foreign supplier in the demanding Japanese automotive market.
Peter Bauer, head of Infineon's Automotive, Industrial Electronics and Multimarket division and a member of the Management Board, attributes the organization's sustained success to "the focus on automotive applications and requirement, with a broad innovative product portfolio of the highest quality and excellent technological expertise."
Infineon supplies sensors, microcontrollers and power semiconductors for the automotive industry. Every new vehicle built around the world contains on average approximately two dozen components from Infineon.
According to Bauer, one of the factors that have helped Infineon's automotive electronics business to above-average growth is new legislation introduced to improve safety and security, and to better control automotive emissions. Infineon, he points out, has a strong position in both of these areas. For example, under new safety regulations an increasing proportion of new vehicles will be equipped with a tire pressure sensor system in coming years, and Infineon is the world market leader in this field.
Concerns about emissions and efficiency, meanwhile, will open up new opportunities for Infineon's successful intelligent engine management chips, which can ensure that the air-fuel mixture is properly balanced at all times as well as optimizing injection and ignition timing for each cylinder.
"To be successful in Japan," Bauer reports with conviction, "you have to fulfill the tough customer requirements regarding product quality. That we are the most successful non-Japanese supplier now, confirms that we are on the right track with our focus on quality excellence, reliability and customer satisfaction."
Infineon's quality advantage, Bauer continues, stems from its early adoption of the Automotive Excellence Program, a comprehensive quality management system that strives for zero defect products.
