The market is expected to grow considerably in 2009, reaching to 12,681 million yen in value (up by 27.4% compared to the previous year) and 13.34 million pieces in volume (up by 26.1% compared to the previous year) based on the shipments from the manufacturers.

In 2009, about 90 percent of the in-vehicle current sensors will be used for charge/discharge control systems of the accessory batteries. The ratio of installation will keep increasing for fuel economy improvement. The remaining 10 percent is for HEV/EV battery monitoring and motor control applications, which will increase rapidly in the future, along with the spreads of these vehicles in the market.

In addition to the increasing installations in the battery charging control systems of the passenger cars centered on European and Japanese market and the world expansion of HEV/EV market, the recovery of the passenger car market will contribute to considerably expanding the in-vehicle current sensor market. The average annual growth rate (CAGR) up to 2015 is expected to be 17.7 percent in shipment volume and 15.1 percent in shipment value respectively.

With the progress of electronic control and motor drive of the vehicle systems, the demand for on-board electricity, especially for high-power consuming devices is increasing. Under the strict environmental regulations and incentive polices for eco-cars in every countries, fuel economy is becoming a commercial value, and the demand for power management (how to store and use the electricity efficiently) is increasing, as well as the importance of current sensors used in such power management systems. The total in-vehicle current sensor market in 2009 is estimated to be 12,681 million yen (based on the shipment).

Impacted by the global economic recession, new car sales are expected to fall into the doldrums, especially in the advanced countries. In the meantime, however, the current sensor market is expected to grow, with increasing demand for accessory battery applications as the installation of charge-discharge control system on passenger vehicles will increase in European and Japanese market. In addition, the demand for HEV and EV applications will increase along with the spreads of HEV and EV.

The market size in 2015 is estimated to be 33.01 million pieces in shipment volume (CAGR: 17.7%), and 26,595 million yen in shipment value (CAGR: 15.1%).
 

The market size of the current sensors for accessory battery applications in 2009 is estimated to be 11,336 million yen (based on the shipment in value from the manufacturers). About 90 percent of the total in-vehicle current sensors are for accessory battery applications.

Since 2001 or so, the installation of charge-discharge control system on gasoline and diesel engine vehicles has been promoted for avoiding useless power generation and saving power consumption, and for load control based on the power supply priority. Together with such movements, the installation of current sensors on/around the accessory batteries has been progressed.

The charge-discharge control system for accessory batteries is an indispensable item for fuel economy improvement, which many automakers plan to install on all passenger vehicles for domestic and European market Note (Some automakers plan to install on the vehicles for North American market as well.). It is likely, therefore, that the current sensor market for accessory batteries will expand along with the vehicle model changes and new vehicle model launches.

In engineering aspects, as there are needs for functions ｓｕｃｈ as 1) battery status detection and 2) dark current measurement (electric current consumed even when the engine is OFF), diversification of functions and detection ranges is expected to progress from now on. It is likely, in line with these changes, that the detection elements and detection methods may be changed in the future.

The market size of the current sensors for HEV/EV battery monitoring applications in 2009 is estimated to be 478 million yen (based on the shipments in value). The current sensors will be installed close to the HEV/EV drive battery and used for monitoring the status such as charging condition of the battery.

For HEV/EV battery monitoring applications, the demand for higher accuracy will increase in the future, as lithium-ion batteries will be installed on HEV/EV, on which it is much more difficult to detect the battery conditions compared to the existing nickel hydrogen batteries, and higher accuracy sensors are required. Currently, Open-Loop method or Closed-Loop method with Hall Element are used, which is likely to be replaced by higher accuracy sensors (such as a sensor with magnetoresistance element) in the future.

The market size of the current sensors for HEV/EV motor control applications in 2009 is estimated to be 862 million yen (based on the shipments in value). For HEV/EV motor control application, about 2-3 sensors will be required for each motor/generator.

Full-fledged introduction of EV (Electric Vehicle) and PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle) into the market will start in 2009. A vehicle charger will be installed on these vehicles, and current sensors will be used on these in-vehicle chargers. The market size in 2009 is estimated to be 5 million yen (based on the shipments in value)