By Li Panpan

(JW Insights) Mar 23 -- Chinese silicon carbide (SiC) modules are getting increasingly accepted in the Chinese automotive market, with hot sales of models equipped with them. Acco Power, StarPower Semiconductor and BYD are the leading suppliers, said a recent JW Insights report.

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China reached 7.058 million and 6.887 million in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 96.9% and 93.4%, respectively.

Acco Power (芯聚能) and StarPower Semiconductor(斯达半导体) have been supplied modules to Geely Smart Elf 1 and Xpeng G9 since last September, respectively. BYD produces its own modules. Only Nio ET7’s modules were imported from international suppliers, learned JW Insights from the supply chains.

The sales of the BYD Han EV in 2021 reached 90,000 since it was launched in September of the year. The hot sales of models released in 2022, such as Geely Smart Elf 1 and Xpeng G9, also show that consumers are more accepting models equipped with Chinese-produced SiC power modules, according to the statistics released by car companies and China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Despite the global economic slowdown and the semiconductor industry downturn, the rapid growth of the new energy vehicle market boosts the development of power semiconductors. Its market size in global automobiles (including new energy, gasoline, and hybrid vehicles) will reach RMB16 billion ($2.35 billion) by 2025, said the JW Insights report.

With advantages such as high frequency, efficiency, voltage and temperature resistance, more and more third-generation semiconductor power devices such as SiC and GaN are used in new energy vehicles. The application can not only improve the energy utilization rate of the vehicle but also accelerate the upgrade of new energy vehicle products, opening up a broader market space for the industry.

Since Tesla used SiC modules on a large scale, many car companies at home and abroad have followed suit. SiC power semiconductors are first applied in high-performance vehicles. With their upgrade and further cost reduction, they gradually penetrated B-class cars and some A-class cars. The market size of SiC power semiconductors for new energy vehicles in China was about RMB4.41 billion ($646.61 million) in 2021 and close to RMB7 billion ($1.03 billion) in 2022, said JW Insights in the report.

Currently, Chinese mass-produced models such as BYD Han EV, Nio ET7, Xpeng G9, and Geely Smart Elf 1 are equipped with silicon carbide devices, accelerating more adopting of SiC power modules in the Chinese market.

In January this year, sales of those models continued to increase, granting OEMs more confidence into Chinese made SiC power modules.

Acco Power became China's largest third-party SiC module supplier this January. Its market share increased from 8.4% in 2022 to 25.2% this January as a result of the hot sales of Geely Smart Elf 1.

The launch and delivery of other models of Chinese car companies such as Zeekr 001 and 009 is expected to deliver more market shares for Chinese SiC module suppliers, said the JW Insights report.