MCU, which means microcontroller in Chinese, is the heart of electronic products and widely used in both consumer and industrial electronic products. Whether it is a thermometer, wireless charger, or smart bracelet, or CNC machine tools, medical devices, and automotive electronics, MCU will be used. So, what is the current situation of the domestic MCU market?
Nowadays, the functions of MCU are becoming more and more complete, gradually being applied to various industries, and MCU suppliers are also seeing opportunities for development. However, at the same time, the overall development of MCU depends heavily on the specific application market and macroeconomic development, and the development trend is not determined by MCU suppliers.
As early as 2018, the global revenue of MCU set an unprecedented record, reaching $17.6 billion. However, it continued to decline in 2019 and 2020, with automotive MCU accounting for the highest proportion of sales, reaching $6 billion, which is also a considerable achievement. Looking at the domestic MCU market, data shows that during the decade from 2008 to 2018, the average compound annual growth rate of the domestic MCU market was as high as 7.2%, which is four times the global market growth rate during the same period. However, it is worth noting that over the past decade, the majority of the domestic MCU market has still been occupied by foreign brands, and domestic MCU suppliers have not been given too many cakes.
At present, the application market of MCU is mainly distributed in six fields, namely the Internet of Things, industrial control, automotive electronics, home appliances and consumer electronics, computer and network communication, smart meters, and IC cards. Among them, the most widely used automotive and industrial control fields are almost monopolized by foreign major manufacturers. The main market for domestic MCU suppliers is still concentrated in the fields of home appliances and consumer electronics, and their survival space is still squeezed. However, it is gratifying that in the fields of Internet of Things, home appliances and consumer electronics applications, domestic MCU suppliers have the power to compete with international major manufacturers, and their products have been widely recognized in the market. The products produced and developed by domestic MCU manufacturers and MCU application developers can cover over 90% of daily life application scenarios.
From the perspective of market share, 8-bit MCU and 32-bit MCU occupy the main market share of the Chinese MCU market. According to information released by CISA in 2019, 8-bit MCU and 32-bit MCU chips respectively occupy 40% and 45% of the domestic market. However, with the development of technology and the progress of production processes, the market share of 32-bit MCU gradually began to expand and squeeze other MCU products. Its market share in the domestic market increased from 36% in 2012 to 45% in 2019.
Therefore, based on the analysis of data from previous years, although 8-bit MCUs still dominate the domestic MCU market, their market share in the MCU market is gradually declining, and in the future, the dominant market share in the MCU industry will be replaced by 32-bit MCUs. Overall, the Chinese MCU market will continue to maintain a good growth trend, and the market size will continue to grow and expand.