2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

This article will review the basic definition of automotive cameras, hardware composition, application scenarios, industrial chain structure diagram, upstream and downstream industry analysis, key domestic enterprises, etc., for reference.

Basic Definition

It refers to cameras installed inside or outside the car, serving as core perception sensors that achieve real-time collection of image information through lenses and image sensors, used to monitor the internal and external environment of the vehicle to assist the driver in safe driving.

Hardware Composition

The automotive camera module mainly includes optical lenses, image sensor CIS, image signal processor ISP, serializer, and connector components.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

1) Lens: It consists of optical lenses, filters, protective films, etc. The lens is responsible for focusing light, projecting objects in the field of view onto the imaging medium surface, thereby generating optical images. Generally speaking, 70% of the optical parameters of the camera are determined by the lens. Lenses are usually composed of multiple optical lenses, primarily made of plastic (P) and glass (G). Currently, automotive lenses mainly use two types: glass-plastic hybrid lenses and glass lenses. Among them, panoramic and cabin cameras mostly use glass-plastic hybrid lenses, while front-view, side-view, and CMS cameras mostly use all-glass lenses.

2) Image Sensor CIS: It refers to the imaging medium that converts the light signals projected onto the CIS surface by the lens into electrical signals using photoelectric conversion components. Common image sensors are mainly divided into CCD and CMOS types. Overall, CCD sensors are superior to CMOS sensors in terms of sensitivity and image quality. However, CMOS sensors outperform CCD sensors in terms of power consumption, size, and cost. Currently, automotive cameras commonly use CMOS chips for image sensors.

3) Image Signal Processor ISP: It processes the RAW format data output by the image sensor CIS, with main processing functions including image scaling, automatic exposure (AE), automatic white balance (AWB), automatic focus (AF), image denoising, etc., ultimately converting it into RGB, YUV, and other format data. There are two forms of ISP inside the camera module: A – built into the CMOS; B – independent chip.

4) Serializer: It converts parallel signals into serial signals. Typically, the signals output after processing by the image sensor CMOS or image processor ISP are based on the MIPI/CSI standard, with short transmission distances, so they need to be converted into serial signals suitable for long-distance transmission. Currently, commonly used serializers are Maxim’s GMSL 2 standard and TI’s FPD-Link standard.

Application Scenarios

The application scenarios of automotive cameras can be divided into two categories: external applications and internal applications. External applications include parking assistance, driving assistance, CMS, DVR, etc.; internal applications include DMS, OMS, etc.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

Industry Structure Diagram

The entire industrial chain of automotive cameras can be divided into:

Upstream: manufacturers of raw materials such as optical lenses, filters, protective films, and wafers.

Midstream: manufacturers of lenses, adhesive materials, serializer chips, PMIC chips, CMOS chips, computing processing chips, etc.

Downstream: camera module suppliers and system integrators.

Further downstream: OEMs.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

Upstream Industry Analysis

The upstream enterprises of automotive lenses mainly include manufacturers of optical lenses, filters, and protective films, whose main business is raw material processing, producing basic components such as lenses, filters, and protective films; the upstream raw material for CMOS chips, computing processing chips, PMIC chips, and serializer chips is silicon wafers.

1) Optical Lenses

Optical lenses can be divided into plastic lenses and glass lenses based on material. Plastic lenses have a large expansion coefficient and poor wear resistance and heat resistance. In harsh environments, lenses are prone to deformation, affecting imaging quality. The advantage is that lenses are lightweight and inexpensive. Considering performance and cost, automotive lens manufacturers usually adopt a mixed form of plastic and glass lenses, creating glass-plastic hybrid lenses. Glass lenses have high transmittance, strong heat and wear resistance, but are more expensive and have greater production difficulties.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

Optical lenses can also be divided into spherical lenses and aspheric lenses based on shape. Currently, the shapes of plastic lenses used in automotive lenses are basically all aspheric; for glass lenses, both spherical and aspheric types are applied in automotive lenses. Spherical lenses: simple design but poor optical performance, have aberration issues, meaning the focal points of light entering from the center of the lens and from the edges are inconsistent, leading to blurry images. Using multiple lenses together can reduce aberrations. Aspheric lenses: high precision requirements, complex processes, but good imaging effects, can eliminate aberration issues by changing the curvature of the lens to converge light to a fixed focal point. Aspheric plastic lenses are produced using injection molding, while aspheric glass lenses are produced using hot pressing. Currently, domestic companies capable of producing aspheric glass lenses for automotive cameras include: Sunny Optical, Lianchuang Electronics, and Lante Optics.

2) Infrared Cut Filters

Infrared cut filters (IRCF) utilize precision optical coating technology to alternately coat high and low refractive index optical films on optical substrates such as white glass, blue glass, or resin sheets, allowing visible light wavelengths (400~700nm) to pass through while blocking infrared light, thereby eliminating the influence of infrared light on imaging and improving image color restoration, making it closer to what the human eye sees.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

The substrate materials for infrared filters are mainly divided into three types: white glass, blue glass, and resin materials. Among them, filters made with white glass and resin materials are reflective filters, effectively reflecting infrared and some other light through IR film coated on the substrate surface, but they can easily cause secondary imaging of reflected light, leading to halo and ghosting effects. Therefore, infrared cut filters made from these two materials are generally applied in low-pixel cameras.

Filters made with blue glass substrates are absorption-type filters. Blue glass itself is a special optical absorption material, and the copper ions in the glass absorb infrared light and do not have significant reflection, avoiding the occurrence of ghosting and light spot phenomena caused by reflection and refraction of light in the lens assembly. Infrared cut filters made from blue glass substrates are generally applied in high-pixel cameras.

The manufacturers of infrared filters are mainly concentrated in Japan and South Korea, as well as in China. Japanese and Korean manufacturers include Asahi Glass, Daikin, Japan Electric Wave, Tanaka Kikinzoku, and Optron, while Chinese manufacturers include OFILM, Crystal Optoelectronics, Wufang Optoelectronics, and Jingji Optoelectronics.

3) Protective Films

Automotive optical lenses typically consist of 4 to 7 lenses. When light enters the lens through multiple layers of lenses, multiple reflections and refractions occur, which can lead to light loss and may also cause glare and ghosting. By coating a protective film on the lens, the amount of light penetrating the lens surface can be increased, minimizing reflection and refraction of light, thus avoiding glare and ghosting phenomena. Currently, advanced coating technologies include SWC sub-wavelength structure coating and ASC air-spherical coating.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

SWC (Sub-wavelength Structure Coating): The lens surface forms a large number of wedge-shaped microscopic structures smaller than the wavelength of visible light, which can continuously change the refractive index, thus eliminating the boundary where the refractive index suddenly changes, achieving a better suppression of reflection effect than vapor deposition coating.

ASC (Air-spherical Coating): The coating layer can be divided into two parts – the lower layer is a traditional vapor-deposited layer, and the upper layer is a low-refractive layer injected with low-refractive bubbles. In the low-refractive layer, tiny air bubbles smaller than the diameter of visible light are regularly arranged, effectively suppressing light reflection.

Protective film manufacturers are mainly foreign, including 3M, LG, Nissei, and Zeiss; domestic manufacturers include Crystal Optoelectronics, Tianjin Haitai Environmental Protection, etc.

Midstream Industry Analysis

1) CMOS Image Sensors

CMOS image sensors are the core components of cameras, responsible for converting light signals transmitted from the lens into electrical signals. Structurally, it generally includes micro-lenses, color filters (CF), metal leads, and photodiodes (PD) among other important components. Based on different technical architectures, CMOS image sensors can be divided into three main types: Front-illuminated (FSI), Back-illuminated (BSI), and Stacked (Stack). The stacked structure is an improved solution based on the back-illuminated architecture, separating the photosensitive element layer as the upper layer, integrating the wiring layer onto another board below, and stacking the two together to form a stacked structure. Currently, automotive CMOS image sensors mostly adopt back-illuminated (BSI) technology architecture.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

CMOS image sensors have two main exposure modes: Rolling Shutter and Global Shutter.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

In the automotive CMOS market, representative companies from Europe and the United States include ON Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics, etc.; representative companies from China include OmniVision, StarChip, Geke Micro, BYD Semiconductor, etc.; representative companies from Japan and South Korea include Sony, Samsung, PixArt, and SK Hynix.

2) Optical Lenses

Optical lenses are usually composed of multiple lenses and can be divided into three types based on the material of the lenses: plastic lenses, glass-plastic hybrid lenses, and glass lenses. Due to the high durability and stability requirements of automotive lenses, automotive lenses usually opt for glass-plastic hybrid lenses or glass lenses. Currently, front-view, side-view, rear-view (driving), and CMS-type lenses mostly use 6 to 7 glass lenses. Typically, 1 to 3 aspheric glass lenses are used, with the remainder being spherical glass lenses. The exact number is determined by the application and requirements of the lens. Panoramic, reverse rear-view, and cabin cameras mostly use 5 to 6 glass-plastic hybrid lenses, combining aspheric plastic lenses and spherical glass lenses. Typically, 3 to 4 aspheric plastic lenses are used, with the remainder being spherical glass lenses; the specific number is also determined by the application and requirements of the lens.

Major global automotive lens companies include Sunny Optical, OFILM, Lianchuang Electronics, Hongjing Optoelectronics, Telesis Optics, Yutong Jiuzhou Optics, Phoenix Optics, Advanced Optoelectronics, Zhongshan United Optoelectronics, Asia Optical, Largan Precision, Yujing Optoelectronics, Largan Optics, Maxell, Fujifilm, and Nidec.

3) Adhesive Materials

The adhesive materials used in the packaging of automotive camera modules are mainly UV glue (Ultraviolet Rays). This is an adhesive that needs to be cured by ultraviolet light, roughly divided into three types: thermosetting adhesives, dual-curing adhesives, and quick-curing adhesives.

Currently, there are many manufacturers of UV adhesive materials, and market competition is fierce. The mainstream manufacturers are mainly distributed in Europe and America, such as Henkel, Dow Corning, DuPont, BASF, 3M, etc.; Japanese manufacturers include Nitto, Seiko Epson, etc. Domestic UV adhesive manufacturers include Shanghai Yuntong Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (AVENTK), Shanghai Hanshi Industrial Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Tianxiang Technology Co., Ltd., etc.

Downstream Industry Analysis

1) Automotive Camera Modules

Automotive camera modules are assembled from hardware such as lenses, CMOS image sensors, PMIC chips, serializer chips, connectors, and housing. The work of automotive camera module manufacturers generally includes camera structure design, hardware design (schematic design, PCB design, structural block design, etc.), ISP calibration, and module production (AA manufacturing process, reliability verification, etc.).

Among them, structure design and hardware design determine the performance and functionality of the automotive camera module product, while ISP calibration determines the output quality of the images. Adjusting ISP parameters allows the output images to meet the differentiated needs of different applications and customers. The AA manufacturing process is the core step to ensure the precise assembly of the lens and CMOS image sensor, affecting the final test yield of the camera, and is the most critical step in quality assurance during the entire module assembly process.

Domestic automotive camera module suppliers can be divided into three types: traditional Tier 1, camera module companies with optical backgrounds, and camera module manufacturers that have transitioned from the mobile phone sector to the automotive sector. Camera module manufacturers with optical backgrounds include Sunny Optical, OFILM, Yinchuang Technology, and Huari Technology; international Tier 1 includes Magna, Continental, Bosch, ZF, Valeo, Denso, etc.; domestic Tier 1 includes Desay SV, Jingwei Hengrun, Haon Automotive Electronics, Huayang General, Tongzhi Electronics, Hikvision Automotive, Zhihua Technology, Zongmu Technology, and Furuitek; mobile camera module cross-industry companies include Q Technology, SanYingXing, Linsun International, and Helitai.

Key Domestic Enterprises

1) Automotive CMOS Chip Manufacturers

OmniVision

Headquartered in Shanghai, it is one of the leading semiconductor design companies in China. OmniVision is dedicated to providing sensor solutions, analog solutions, and display solutions, serving many fields such as mobile phones, security, automotive electronics, wearable devices, consumer electronics, industrial, and medical. In the field of automotive CMOS image sensors, OmniVision continues to innovate and has iterated through four generations of processes, namely OmniPixel®3-HS, OmniBSI™, OmniBSI™-2, and PureCel®Plus, with pixel sizes evolving from 4.2μm to 2.1μm.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

OmniVision provides corresponding CMOS image sensor solutions for external (parking assistance, driving assistance, CMS) and internal (DMS, OMS) application scenarios, with product lines covering different specifications of 1.3MP/1.7MP/2MP/3MP/8MP.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

StarChip

Founded in 2017, headquartered in Shanghai, it is a technology company engaged in the research, design, and sale of CMOS image sensor chips. The company’s products cover multiple application fields such as security monitoring, machine vision, intelligent automotive electronics, and smartphones. In 2019, StarChip began strategic layout in the front-end automotive market and acquired Shenzhen Allchip in June 2020, further strengthening its automotive product line. In 2021, StarChip established an automotive chip department dedicated to the research and development of automotive-grade CMOS image sensor technology.

Currently, StarChip has released 11 automotive-grade image sensor products covering imaging, ADAS perception, and internal application series, with resolutions ranging from 1MP to 8MP, essentially achieving full-scene coverage for automotive applications.

2) Automotive Lens Manufacturers

Sunny Optical

Founded in 1984, it mainly engages in the design, research and development, production, and sales of optical and optical-related products, including optical components (such as automotive lenses, LIDAR optical components, virtual reality spatial positioning lenses, mobile phone lenses, digital camera glass spherical lenses, and other optical components), optoelectronic products (such as automotive modules, VR folding optical path modules, VR vision modules, mobile phone camera modules, and other optoelectronic modules), and optical instruments (such as intelligent detection equipment and microscopes).

Sunny Optical has a rich product line layout in the field of automotive lenses, including front-view, side-view, rear-view, panoramic, internal view, and CMS electronic rear-view series automotive lenses. To maintain its leading position in the industry, Sunny Optical adheres to two main strategic directions: continuous R&D innovation in the high-end ADAS lens field to ensure technological leadership, such as completing the R&D of 8MP all-glass aspheric lenses and 17MP front-view automotive lenses; and in the mid-low-end lens field, achieving high cost-performance solutions through technological innovation. For example, Sunny Optical has overcome the technical difficulties of temperature stability for plastic lenses, completing the R&D of 2MP front-view and 5MP internal glass-plastic hybrid lenses.

Lianchuang Electronics

Founded in 2006, it focuses on developing optical lenses, imaging modules, touch display devices, and other new optical-electronic industries, with products widely used in smart terminals, smart cars, smart homes, and smart cities. In the field of automotive cameras, Lianchuang Electronics has formed a full-stack solution for automotive camera products, including reversing camera systems, 360 panoramic systems, advanced ADAS systems, internal monitoring systems, electronic rear-view mirrors, etc. The company extends upstream to independently produce molded glass to achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement, ensuring product yield and stable supply; and extends downstream to jointly develop automotive camera modules with customers, successfully entering the supply chain systems of several Tier 1 and automotive manufacturers, including Valeo, Magna, Aptiv, and automotive manufacturers such as Tesla, NIO, BYD, and Geely.

OFILM

Established in 2021. In 2015, OFILM began entering the smart automotive field by acquiring Huadong Automotive Electronics and Nanjing Tianqing, successfully becoming a Tier 1 supplier for domestic automotive manufacturers; in 2018, the company acquired Fujifilm’s Tianjin lens factory, further strengthening its layout in automotive lenses. Currently, OFILM relies on its technological advantages in the optical-electronic field to deeply layout smart driving, body electronics, and intelligent cockpit, extending from optical lenses and cameras to products such as millimeter-wave radar, LIDAR, and heads-up displays (HUD).

3) Automotive Camera Module Manufacturers

Sunny Intelligent

Founded in 2015, it is a subsidiary of Sunny Optical, focusing on the research, manufacturing, sales, and technical services of automotive camera modules. Sunny Intelligent’s automotive camera module products are divided into four categories: environmental perception, imaging perception, external imaging, and internal monitoring. The resolution of automotive camera modules covers 1MP to 8MP, with field-of-view angles ranging from 15° to 120°.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

Sunny Intelligent collaborates with Tier 1 and automotive manufacturers to produce and provide automotive module products and solutions. Currently, it has collaborated with more than 10 Tier 1 and over 20 OEMs in China. At the same time, it has developed ecological partnerships with chip platform companies and perception algorithm solution providers, accelerating the landing of new camera module products. Partnering customers include NIO, Li Auto, XPeng, IM, Zeekr, Geely, Great Wall, BYD, Toyota, Hyundai, Subaru, and Tier 1 companies such as Denso, ZF, and Haomo; ecological partners include Mobileye, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Ambarella, TI, Samsung, OmniVision, Horizon Robotics, and others.

ZhiHua Technology

Founded in 2012, it positions itself as a progressive smart driving customized system supplier. Currently, the company has the capability of intelligent driving fusion perception and control algorithm, customized smart driving system, and automotive-grade manufacturing and mass production capabilities. The company’s business focuses on intelligent driving, smart parking, and intelligent cockpit application scenarios. ZhiHua Technology focuses on enhancing the mass production capability of automotive-grade visual products, with its production base certified by the IATF16949 quality management system and related environmental and information security certifications. According to relevant data, ZhiHua Technology’s intelligent camera sensors have shipped over 10 million units, and intelligent driving system-level products have exceeded 2 million sets, serving over 3 million intelligent automotive front-end mass production vehicles.

ZhiHua Technology’s automotive camera products cover intelligent driving, parking, and internal application scenarios.

For internal application scenarios, ZhiHua Technology’s intelligent cockpit monitoring system (IMS) product line includes three configuration schemes: low, medium, and high, to meet the differentiated needs of different OEM customers:

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

Zongmu Technology

Founded in 2013, headquartered in Shanghai Zhangjiang International Innovation Center, it mainly engages in the research, production, and sales of automotive intelligent driving systems. Zongmu Technology not only has the capability to supply hardware products such as ADS/ADAS (domain) controllers, cameras, millimeter-wave radar, and ultrasonic radar, but can also provide solutions related to intelligent driving. Zongmu Technology’s automotive camera product matrix is rich, covering ADAS front/rear/side view, 360 panoramic, internal DMS/OMS, and other multi-scenario applications. In the field of automotive cameras, Zongmu Technology’s panoramic cameras have achieved mass production in models of mainstream automotive companies such as Changan Automobile, FAW Group, Seres Automotive, Lantu Motors, Jiangling Group, SAIC Group, WM Motor, and Li Auto; internal DMS cameras and OMS cameras have already obtained fixed contracts from Huaren Yuntong Automotive.

Jingwei Hengrun

Founded in 2003, headquartered in Beijing, with production plants established in Tianjin and Nantong. It focuses on providing automotive electronic product business, automotive electronic R&D services, and high-level intelligent driving system development and operation services for customers in automotive and unmanned transportation fields. Among them, the automotive electronic product business can be divided into intelligent driving electronic products, intelligent cockpit electronic products, intelligent connected electronic products, body and comfort domain electronic products, chassis control electronic products, and new energy and power system electronic products.

For intelligent driving electronic products, Jingwei Hengrun’s ADAS system selects three main technical solutions: 1) VO (VisionOnly single front-view integrated machine pure vision solution); 2) 1V1R (single front-view integrated machine + 1 front millimeter-wave radar); 3) 1VnR (single front-view integrated machine + n millimeter-wave radars). In the passenger car ADAS market, Jingwei Hengrun mainly promotes the VO technical route; in the commercial vehicle ADAS market, Jingwei Hengrun mainly promotes the 1V1R technical route.

Jingwei Hengrun’s automotive camera products cover both external and internal scenarios. External scenarios mainly include intelligent driving applications, including front, side, rear, and panoramic cameras. Internal scenarios mainly include intelligent cockpit applications, including DMS and OMS cameras. Currently, the company has formed a complete camera product solution from design, production to application.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

Haon Automotive Electronics

It is a company focused on the research, design, manufacture, and sale of automotive intelligent driving perception systems. The company’s main products include reversing radar, cameras, 360° panoramic systems, automatic parking systems, blind spot monitoring systems, driving recorders, driving computers, HUD heads-up displays, and other automotive electronic products and system solutions. Currently, Haon Automotive Electronics has become a global supplier in the field of automotive intelligent driving perception systems, with major customers including Nissan, Volkswagen, PSA Global, Geely, Ford, Suzuki, Hyundai Kia, BYD, Xpeng Motors, Li Auto, and other domestic and foreign automotive companies.

In the field of automotive cameras, Haon Automotive Electronics’ main products include panoramic cameras, rear-view cameras, DMS/OMS cameras, etc. Currently, the resolution of Haon Automotive Electronics’ automotive cameras can cover from 300,000 to 8 million pixels, with a maximum frame rate of 60fps.

2024 Automotive Camera Industry Analysis

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