News | June 30, 2008

Freescale Sets Automotive Pace With Emissions Control Technology And Commitment To EcoCAR Challenge

Austin, TX - Freescale Semiconductor has introduced advanced silicon technology designed to help automakers improve fuel efficiency while reducing harmful emissions. Last week, the company launched a new family of 32-bit Power Architecture (www.power.org) microcontrollers (MCUs) with integrated emissions control technology. The company also announced its commitment to supporting the EcoCAR Challenge (www.ecocarchallenge.org), a new international collegiate vehicle engineering competition focused on developing the next generation of eco-friendly cars.

A recent report by Strategy Analytics named Freescale the No. 1 semiconductor supplier to the automotive industry in 2007–the 17th year in a row that Freescale has topped the charts in the analyst firm's annual report.

"Freescale's acknowledged leadership position in automotive ICs has remained unbroken since 1992–the first year that Strategy Analytics began publishing its automotive semiconductor vendor market share report," said Chris Webber, vice president, global automotive practice, Strategy Analytics. "It's remarkable that any silicon vendor has sustained such a long tenure of automotive market leadership, given the fierce global competition and the industry's rigorous requirements for quality and continuous innovation."

Freescale's continued market momentum is built on strong relationships with leading automakers in the United States, Europe and Asia. Freescale supplies General Motors with advanced MCU technology for the hybrid drivetrain used in GM's 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid (www.chevrolet.com/hybrid) and GMC Yukon Hybrid (www.gmc.com/yukonhybrid), the world's first full-size hybrid SUVs.

In addition, Freescale has announced plans to establish a joint automotive lab with China's Chery Automobile Co. The two companies aim to co-develop silicon, software and system-level solutions for use in Chery vehicles for Chinese and export markets. China is the world's second largest automotive market after the United States. According to J.D. Power and Associates, China could overtake the United States as the world's top automotive market after 2015.

"With more than one billion microcontroller, sensor and analog devices shipped every year, Freescale provides more silicon for the automotive market than any other semiconductor supplier," said Denis Griot, chairman of Freescale EMEA and the company's global automotive marketing lead. "Automotive technology continues to be a huge and growing research and development focus at Freescale. In fact, 30 percent of Freescale's overall product portfolio is powering today's vehicles, while automotive microelectronics represents less than 10 percent of the global semiconductor market."

2008 Freescale automotive highlights include:

  • Freescale helps drive Challenge X collegiate automotive engineering competition to finish line and supports EcoCAR Challenge to spark the next generation of eco-friendly cars (http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol- newsArticle&ID=1149201&highlight=&tid=rsspr)
  • Freescale extends popular 16-bit microcontroller portfolio into entry-level automotive market (http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol- newsArticle&ID=1147128&highlight=)
  • Freescale's automotive Power Architecture devices feature emissions control technology to combat global warning (http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol- newsArticle&ID=1147127&highlight=)
  • Strategy Analytics confirms Freescale's global leadership among automotive semiconductor vendors for the 17th year in a row (http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol- newsArticle&ID=1139211&highlight=)
  • Joint development efforts between Freescale and Chery Automobile will focus on powertrain management, body electronics, hybrid electric vehicles and in-vehicle entertainment (http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol- newsArticle&ID=1135136&highlight=)
  • Freescale ships a record 300 million 16-bit S12/S12X MCUs to the automotive industry (http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol- newsArticle&ID=1114166&highlight=)
  • Freescale technology provides ‘street smarts' for GM's 2008 full-size hybrid SUVs (http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol- newsArticle&ID=1111505&highlight=)
  • Freescale ships more than 100 million Power Architecture controllers for advanced powertrain management (http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol- newsArticle&ID=1109031&highlight=)

Quote from Henri Richard, senior vice president and chief sales and marketing officer:

  • "We are just starting the race when it comes to fuel savings technology, and Freescale is dedicated to sustainable vehicle technology for the next decade and beyond. Freescale continues to reach new heights in automotive innovation, enabling smarter, safer and greener cars that provide the ultimate in driver comfort and convenience." For a photo and bio for Henri Richard visit: http://media.freescale.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=196520&p=irol- govBio&ID=170103

SOURCE: Freescale Semiconductor