Market Trends of Japan Small Signal Transistor Industry
Significant Growth in the Consumer Electronics Sector
- Transistors are used throughout consumer electronics applications such as reverse battery protection, switching power from different sources like an AC adapter and batteries, and turning offloads like backlighting when unnecessary.
- According to Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), more than 20 million car speakers were shipped domestically in Japan in 2022, which represented a decrease of 4.3% compared to the previous year. Stereo headphones followed with a domestic shipment volume of about 5.1 million units.
- The country's consumer electronics market is dominated by established and well-known companies, including Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and Sony. These companies hold a dominant position in various product categories, such as smartphones, televisions, home appliances, and gaming consoles. According to Apple, the net sales of Apple Inc. in the Japanese market amounted to about USD 26 billion in fiscal year 2022, a slight decrease of more than USD 2 billion compared to the previous fiscal year.
- Furthermore, the smartphone is the significant consumer of semiconductors in this segment. The increasing usage of smartphones is further anticipated to drive the country's market. For Instance, according to JEITA, the monthly domestic shipment volumes of mobile phones in Japan amounted to about 1.11 million units in December 2022. This was a slight decrease of around 200 thousand units compared to the same month of the previous year.
- In addition, in April 2022, Sony confirmed the official launch of the Xperia 1 IV's smartphone series in its home country, Japan. Further, Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation recently announced the expansion of the production capacity for power appliances by constructing a 300-millimeter wafer fabrication building at Kaga Toshiba Electronics Corporation in Japan. Such developments may further drive the studied market growth in the country.
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Increasing Demand for Electric Vehicles
- Small signal transistors have extensive use in modern vehicles. These devices turn on all types of devices, such as fuel injectors, ignition coils, VCT managing solenoids, purge control solenoids, HVAC doors, transmission solenoids, lights, etc.
- Further, in May 2022, Japanese automaker Subaru announced that it would build a new electric vehicle plant in Japan, aiming to bring the factory online sometime after 2027. The plant would be the first electric vehicle factory built from scratch in Japan. In addition to the structure of the latest facility, the existing plant will be retooled to produce a certain number of EVs, with a total investment expected to be around JPY 250 billion (USD 2.2775 billion).
- The increase in electric vehicle demand is also boosting transistor market growth. Various types of transistors are used in the manufacturing process of EVs. According to AIRIA (Japan), as of March 2022, the number of battery-electric passenger cars arrived at around 138.33 thousand, increasing from approximately 125.86 thousand in the previous year.
- In addition, in April 2022, Toyota Motor Corp rolled out its first mass-produced battery electric motorcar in Japan. The new bZ4X delivers superior power efficiency performance (128 Wh/km*2) and adequate cruising range for practical driving (559 km*2). In addition, development was conducted to achieve a world-leading battery capacity retention ratio (90% after ten years*3) in search of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) that can be used for an extended period with peace of mind.
- Furthermore, the growing number of fully-autonomous automobiles is heavily influenced by technological advancements, consumer willingness to accept fully-automated vehicles, pricing, suppliers, and original equipment manufacturers' (OEMs) capacity to address considerable concerns about vehicle safety. According to these factors, the automotive industries always concentrate on enhancing technologies, negotiating raw material prices, and combining cars with reliable technology. Further, in 2022, Toyota Motor Corporation sold approximately 580.4 thousand electric vehicles in Japan.
- Additionally, in July 2022, Chinese auto giant BYD decided to sell electric vehicles in Japan in 2023, hoping demand would grow. BYD Japan, which also sold electric buses in the country, announced the establishment of a new company to handle EV sales. Further, three EV models will be launched successively from January in Japan. Such expansion in electric vehicles across the country may further propel the studied market growth.
