From the unveiling of the sixth-generation unmanned car of Apollo Go (Baidu’s self-driving travel service platform), we can see that the automotive industry is undergoing unprecedented changes as driverless technology continues to be upgraded and commercialised. Modern cars are becoming high-performance computers mounted on wheels, with electronics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication. At the same time, this evolution has facilitated significant improvements in fuel and power efficiency, greatly improved safety and effectively reduced vehicle weight. The transformation of driverless cars not only foreshadows future trends in automotive technology, but also places greater demands on automotive components, particularly automotive connectors.
Ⅰ. Analysis of market size
Global Market Size: According to a research report on the self-driving car market, the global self-driving car market has reached 446.115 billion yuan (RMB) in 2023 and is forecasted to reach 1,223.378 billion yuan (RMB) by 2029, at a CAGR of 18%. This indicates that the global self-driving car market is growing rapidly and still has huge potential for development in the future.
China Market Size: Specifically for the China market, the market size of China’s self-driving car market has reached 138.296 billion yuan in 2023, showing the important position of China’s market in the global self-driving car market. Meanwhile, some forecasts point out that the market size of China’s driverless car industry will be close to 30 billion yuan in 2024, further demonstrating the high demand and high growth potential of the Chinese market for driverless cars.
Data source: Qianzhan Industry Research Institute
Ⅱ. Future trends in driverless cars
The development pattern of driverless cars will show a diversified trend. Automobile companies such as SAIC, GAC and BYD will continue to play an important role with their rich accumulation and technology level in the field of vehicle manufacturing; at the same time, Internet/high-tech companies such as Baidu and DiDi will vigorously compete with the advantages of AI and big data; in addition, startups such as AutoX and Mushroom Car Link will also take their place in the market through pioneering innovations and technological breakthroughs. The expansion of the driverless car market has also brought a boom for the connector industry, and customising a more compliant driverless car for the customer’s needs is the current focus of automotive connector research and development.
Ⅲ. Application of automotive connectors in driverless cars
The development of driverless cars gives a higher demand for electrification and intelligence. In order to achieve environment sensing, data processing and vehicle control, everyone needs to rely on a lot of sensors, measurement devices and controllers. All of these devices want stable energy requirements and efficient data transmission, and low-voltage automotive-grade connectors are one of the key components that drive this functionality.
In response to the driverless car market’s urgent need for high-performance, high-reliability automotive connectors, KONNRA breaks through the patent barriers and innovatively develops a variety of connectors with TPA and CPA based on international standards. Ensure that the products are high temperature resistance, strong firmness, stability and other characteristics, to help the global new energy automotive industry flourish.
With the continuous development of driverless technology, intelligent transport systems will become an important part of future urban transport. Driverless cars will work in tandem with intelligent traffic signals, intelligent car parks and other facilities to jointly improve the efficiency of urban traffic operation and management level. Let’s step into the new era of driverless cars with connector specialist KONNRA.
