Investment, funding and product introduction in radar, vision, LiDAR, maps and software for ADAS-AV
Substantial investment, funding and product introduction from LiDAR suppliers
LiDAR is a key technology for autonomous driving, object recognition and accident prevention that major OEMs, such as Ford, and Tier1s, e.g. Delphi are relying on to achieve L3/4 automation. Tesla on the other hand is not.
Its cost, a significant barrier of commercialisation today, is expected to drop significantly from the $70-80,000 Velodyne LiDAR unit which featured on top of Google’s self-driving car. Given the massive potential for LiDAR demand in the future, several automotive suppliers are trying to develop a LIDAR portfolio.
Velodyne, Quanergy and LeddarTech are at the forefront of commercializing LiDAR technology beyond pilots to actual deployment.
In detail, in August Quanergy raised $90 Million from investors, including Delphi, achieving a post-funding valuation of $1.59 billion. Quanergy’s solid-state LiDAR, which would cost around $200-250 each when it hits the market in 2018, would bring the LiDAR cost per vehicle to less than $1,000, and constitutes an integral component into Delphi’s plan to deliver autonomous driving by 2019.
On the other hand, Velodyne announced the completion of a combined $150 million investment from Ford and Baidu to expand the design and production of its technology and enable mass adoption of AD. The company has a new version of its LiDAR sensor called Puck Hi-Res.
LeddarTech, which offers low price level Leddar for both ADAS and AV, introduced a new Leddar platform for autonomous driving sensor technology.
Finally, ZF acquired a 40% stake in the Hamburg-based company Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH, a leader in lidar with several global OEMs as customers.
Software
On the software side for AV, Delphi and Mobileye announced a partnership to develop Level 4/5 automation available for production by 2019. Delphi will incorporate Autonomous Driving software algorithms whereas Mobileye will focus on sensors and signal processing.
Radar
Denso agreed with Fujitsu and Toyota to increase its stake in Fujitsu Ten from 10% to 51% to push for better self-driving car sensors.
Fujitsu Ten Ltd., which builds the sort of radar systems used in autonomous driving systems, is Denso’s second deal this month in ADAS-AV following the signing of a technical advisory contract with computer vision and AI expert Carnegie Mellon University Professor Dr. Takeo Kanade.
The era of the mirrorless car is approaching
Camera Monitoring Systems can legally substitute outside rear-view mirrors in Japan from July 2016 as the country adopted the requirements of UN-ECE Regulation 46.04. This opens up new opportunities in the market as the technology has already been displayed in concept cars.
In the latest news, the Chinese Authorities are currently undertaking research to understand the recent amendment with a view to similarly amending the Chinese requirements (GB 15084).
Maps
Japan sets up a new Joint Venture to create high-definition 3-D maps for self-driving cars in September as part of a government effort to have such vehicles on the road by 2020, when the Tokyo Summer Olympics will be held.
Furthermore, Civil Maps, which in July received investment from Ford to accelerate deployment of 3D maps unveiled a passenger-facing augmented reality (AR) experience that integrates the company’s localization technology with 3D dynamic maps.
Suppliers invest in ADAS to achieve long-term profitability
All the above demonstrate significant activity from Automotive Suppliers and OEMs as they position themselves to monetise the era of full vehicle automation and new mobility.
One of the findings of our research on the world’s 8 leading ADAS suppliers was that, on average, their ADAS revenues accounted for approximately 2% of their total automotive revenue in 2015. However, what is now a small proportion of revenues, is expected to drive future profitability over the next decade as ADAS margins are expected to be high with the uptake of ADAS content per vehicle and the commercialisation of Autonomous Driving. As result we expect that many leading ADAS Suppliers will record billions of revenues from their ADAS segments.
Automotive suppliers continue to invest heavily to uniquely position themselves as leaders in autonomous driving and new mobility (car sharing, robot taxis). To learn more and get an understanding of ADAS suppliers’ rankings and market shares in 2015 and how they will develop over the next 5 years read our new report:
Rankings and market shares of Top Tier-1 ADAS Suppliers in 2015 & forecast 2016-2020
This report focuses on the leading manufacturers of the cameras, radars, Lidar and ultrasonic sensors used for ADAS since we have identified them as the ones to benefit more from the uptake of ADAS penetration and the eventual transition towards semi-autonomous and self-driving cars.
