Boston, MA - February 8, 2005 -- According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, "Automotive Multiplex Network Growth," 611 million automotive communication nodes will be installed into new vehicles in 2005. This number is forecast to double to 1.2 billion by 2011.

Today's high-end vehicles may contain nearly 70 electronic control units networked together to manage the full range of systems and features provided. Strategy Analytics' study concludes that the automotive control network protocol, CAN, will remain dominant, but emerging application-optimized protocols will be additionally installed and become industry standards. Some of these protocols will face adoption challenges along the way. Cost, performance and safety issues drive the development of these emerging protocols, however they will need to be cost-competitive with existing solutions for deployment in low-margin volume vehicle production.

"The use of in-vehicle networks is part of the solution for OEMs to deliver enhanced vehicle features and improved reliability. The deployment of the LIN sub-bus, fault-tolerant Flexray, safe-by-wire occupant protection bus and high-bandwidth infotainment networks will drive up the number of nodes installed in vehicles, creating significant growth opportunity for semiconductor vendors of bus protocol and driver ICs," said Chris Webber, vice president of the Automotive Practice at Strategy Analytics.

Automotive Multiplex Node/Transceiver Forecast (Million Units)