The continuous "hotness" of the smart cockpit has also driven mainstream chips all the way up, and the market structure behind it is also in a new cycle of drastic changes.
According to the monitoring data of Gaogong Intelligent Automobile Research Institute, from January to June 2023, 649,100 new cars (some with dual 8155 configurations) were delivered in the Chinese market (excluding imports and exports) with standard 8155 chips installed in front of passenger cars, a year-on-year increase of 275.42 %.
During the same period, the overall delivery volume of the Qualcomm platform (including a variety of different models) reached 2,363,300 vehicles, accounting for 36.10% of the entire smart cockpit (central control entertainment, voice interaction, Internet of Vehicles + OTA) market, leading the market (NXP has put The top position was handed over).
According to the latest data, the financial report for the third fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2023 shows that Qualcomm’s revenue in the second quarter of this year was US$8.451 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 23%. Net profit was US$1.803 billion, down 52% year-on-year. However, the automotive segment achieved revenue of US$434 million, a year-on-year increase of 13%.
Traditional platforms such as NXP, TI, and Renesas have already shown a trend of "sunset". For example, NXP has invested its main resources in the high computing power SoC of the central control domain (service gateway or central vehicle control unit); TI is the smart driving platform that focuses on TDA4.
Previously, Renesas was able to differentiate itself from Qualcomm in the low-end cockpit domain control track. However, as Qualcomm’s next-generation 5nm platform (8255, 8295) started mass production and delivery, the price of 8155 has dropped rapidly, and some car companies have already begun Use dual 8155 to solve the rear entertainment needs.
At present, around the 8295 platform, many domestic suppliers are promoting the process of project designation and mass production. For example, PATEO Internet of Vehicles, which has received fixed-point and mass-produced delivery of more than ten Qualcomm 8155 models, is building a new generation of Qingsense smart cockpit platform based on 8295, which is expected to be mass-produced in 2024.
In addition, PATEO's new-generation vehicle intelligent platform solution is based on PATEO's hardware-soft cloud full-stack technology + Qualcomm 8295 high-performance platform + underlying software platform, which can quickly expand the three-domain integrated vehicle intelligence level, integrate Intelligent driving information display and interaction functions.
However, the smart cockpit has changed from the fast stacking function in the 1.0 era to the 2.0 era emphasizing the differentiated human-machine experience, as well as the requirements for cost, and the demand for computing platforms of car companies is also undergoing subtle changes. In the view of Gaogong Intelligent Automobile Research Institute, entering the "post-8155 era", the market competition pattern is facing new opportunities for restructuring.
For example, in addition to establishing a strategic cooperation with Qualcomm, PATEO has also started a strategic cooperation with a local manufacturer—Sinengine Technology to jointly expand the differentiated market segments of smart cockpits. The latter began mass production and delivered the first car-grade 7nm cockpit this year. SoC.
In April of this year, Lynk & Co's new SUV, Lynk & Co 08, was launched. As a product that focuses on intelligent networking, this car is equipped with two 7-nanometer car-grade smart cockpit chips "Dragon Eagle No. 1" from Sinoengine Technology . The new car is expected to be launched in the third quarter of this year.
This car-grade smart cockpit chip "Dragon Eagle No. 1" designed based on the 7nm process (compared to Qualcomm 8155) has a high-performance computing cluster with 8-core CPU, 14-core GPU, and 8 TOPS AI computing power independent NPU.
In addition, its audio and video processing capability can support up to 7 screens of high-definition image output and 12 channels of video signal access, and it is the first in the industry to be equipped with dual HiFi 5 DSP processors.
At the same time, it supports the industry's first 92-inch huge sky screen HUD with a resolution of 2K, real-scene navigation covering three lanes, and supports cross-device viewing and playing games on mobile phones, further providing an immersive cockpit experience.
Furthermore, the 16 TOPS computing power of the dual "Dragon Eagle One" supports L0-L2 assisted driving functions including APA assisted parking, RPA remote parking and other full-scenario parking, and is the first in the industry to realize the integration of cabin and parking. landing.
Beginning this year, "Longying No. 1" will also be mass-produced on various models such as Hongqi and Geely. In addition, Siengine Technology has also completed the cooperation with many leading companies in the cockpit track, including Neusoft, Desay SV, Bosch, LG, Yikatong, and Beidou Starcom Zhilian.
Nvidia, which mainly devotes its energy and resources to intelligent driving, cockpit integration and data center track, cooperates with MediaTek to jointly develop and develop SoC integrating Nvidia GPU chips, equipped with NVIDIA AI and graphics computing IP, and realizes the main chip and chip based on chiplets. High-speed interconnection between GPU chips.
This means that MediaTek, which mainly relied on the low-end market in the past, has the opportunity to attack the high-end cockpit market. According to the plan, the first chip of the cooperation between the two parties is expected to be released in 2025 and put into mass production from 2026 to 2027.
Some people in the industry said that at present, it is indeed an excellent "window period" for cockpit chip companies. On the one hand, car companies have many different needs, and the functions are still evolving; on the other hand, under the trend of multi-domain integration, the ability to reuse chips is also critical.
At the same time, the smart cockpit is entering the superposition cycle of "replacement upgrade" and "cost reduction and efficiency increase" of key computing platforms. This is particularly prominent in the Chinese market. According to sources, at present, on the two platforms of Qualcomm 8295 and 8255, car companies have begun to choose the latter because the cost of 8295 is too high.
In the view of Gaogong Intelligent Automobile Research Institute, the current market opportunity is more about how to quickly adapt to changes in the needs of auto companies under the background of cost reduction by auto companies, especially product definition differentiation, cost performance, and local industrial chain ecology, etc. On the one hand, seize new opportunities.