Samsung Electronics announced on August 27 that it has obtained certification for its LPDDR4X vehicle memory, which is integrated into Qualcomm's premium vehicle platform, the “Snapdragon® Digital Chassis™” solution. This marks a significant step in Samsung's aggressive push into the vehicle semiconductor market, a sector that is rapidly growing due to the trend of automotive electrification. The company has also begun full-scale product supply.

Samsung Electronics is pushing its business with the goal of becoming the number one in the vehicle memory market by 2025. According to market research firm IHS, Samsung currently holds a 32% market share, ranking second after Micron which holds 44%.

SK Hynix, which obtained the “Automotive SPICE” Level 2 (CL2) certification last year, is also making strides in the vehicle semiconductor market. The company is actively developing products such as low-power DRAM and graphic DRAM for autonomous driving systems. Additionally, SK Hynix's subsidiary, SK Key Foundry, recently launched an improved 4th generation 0.18? BCD process to enhance the performance of automotive power semiconductors. This product meets the automotive quality standard AEC-Q100 Grade 1, ensuring integrated circuit (IC) operation in high-temperature environments of up to 125 degrees Celsius.

The vehicle semiconductor market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of over 8% from last year to 2028, according to market research firm Omdia. The market size is projected to reach $104.454 billion by 2027. In particular, the global vehicle DRAM market size is expected to grow at an average annual rate of over 16%, surpassing the overall vehicle semiconductor market growth rate.

Samsung Electronics has also completed the development of vehicle NAND products such as detachable vehicle solid-state drives (SSDs) and is in discussions with major market players in North America and other regions. In response to the growth of the autonomous vehicle market, Samsung is providing customer solutions for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD). Samsung Foundry is currently supplying various processors and sensors at 14nm, 8nm, and 5nm, and plans to launch 4nm and 2nm processes for automotive customers.

The semiconductor industry is currently facing uncertainties regarding the AI market outlook and delays in the recovery of traditional demand markets such as PCs and mobile devices, leading to concerns that memory prices may decline by the end of the year. Therefore, securing new semiconductor demand sources such as automobiles is crucial.