The Market Could Grow Sixfold...Parts Industry Says "Autonomous Vehicles Are Next After AI Data Centers"

Component Demand Surges with Rise in Autonomous Driving Levels
LG Innotek Surpasses 19 Trillion Won in Orders, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Sees Strong Automotive Growth
"Robotics Market Holds Significant Potential,
Natural Expansion of Business Boundaries Expected"

Autonomous vehicles are emerging as the next key growth engine in the electronic components industry, following AI data centers. While the robot market still requires time to fully materialize, the explosive growth in component demand that comes merely from advancements in autonomous vehicle levels positions them as a realistic driver of industry growth.

Nexlide, a flexible three-dimensional automotive lighting by LG Innotek. LG Innotek

According to the electronic components industry on September 28, the primary reason for the sector’s focus on autonomous vehicles is the stability of demand. Unlike the robot market, which must wait for new markets to open, autonomous vehicles see a natural increase in components each time their in-vehicle functions are upgraded within the existing automotive market.

A prime example is the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC): a typical internal combustion engine vehicle contains just over 5,000 units. For electric vehicles, this figure jumps to between 15,000 and 20,000 units. If electric vehicles are equipped with autonomous driving features, the number rises sharply to between 20,000 and 30,000 units. An industry insider explained, “If the transition to electric vehicles coincides with an increase in autonomous driving levels, the electronic components market could grow as much as sixfold.”

The expansion in demand for autonomous driving components is already evident in company performance. LG Innotek’s order backlog for autonomous driving-related automotive components—such as vehicle sensing, communications, and lighting—grew from 8.3 trillion won at the end of 2021 to 9.8 trillion won in 2022, 10.7 trillion won in 2023, and 13.6 trillion won in 2024. Last year, for the first time, the backlog surpassed the 19 trillion won mark, hitting 19.2 trillion won.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics also identified the advancement of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and expanded supply of autonomous driving automotive components as core factors in its improved second-quarter results. As autonomous driving stages become more advanced, not only does demand increase for sensors, cameras, and communications equipment to monitor a vehicle’s surroundings, but also for a wide range of supporting electronic components.

Another industry official noted, “Although reaching fully autonomous driving at level 5 presents significant challenges—such as safety regulations and establishing communications infrastructure—the sales pie is already expanding on the supply of components for just level 2 and 3 vehicles.”

However, some caution that the latent potential of the robotics market should not be overlooked even amid the focus on autonomous vehicles. Robots face comparatively fewer safety regulations than autonomous vehicles and, with advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), hardware technologies such as actuators are evolving rapidly. Goldman Sachs forecasts global shipments of humanoid robots to rise from 75,000 units this year to 890,000 units in 2030 and 6.5 million units in 2035. When converted to market size, shipments in 2035 would equal approximately 138 billion dollars (around 19 trillion won).

Jo Cheol, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, commented, “The moment the price per robot drops and robots become commercialized, the speed of market expansion could far exceed expectations.” He added, “Since autonomous vehicles and robots both represent the ‘physical AI’ trend and share core technologies such as electrification, AI, and sensing, the natural extension of business from automotive to robotics components is expected to continue.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.