ELECTRONICS Changing the shape of the automobile

The decisions made by the automotive industry in the next few years will forever change the shape of the automobile. The electronic technologies to improve fuel economy, increase passenger safety, lower emissions, and improve reliability are evolving quickly but because of their cost, the exact timeframe for their implementation is undecided.

The electronic content of the automobile has been rising at a rate of about 6% per year to the point that currently the value of electronics is almost $2000 for the high-end luxury vehicle. Due to the replacement of mechanical components with electrical components and the desire to add more new and sophisticated electronics, the electronic content is expected to grow even more rapidly during the next decade and will approach 40% of the total cost of a high-end luxury vehicle.

Another way to look at this growth is to consider that in the mid 50s a wiring harness was a mere 75 meters in length. Today a high-end vehicle can have a wiring harness over two kilometers in length with a mass of 35 kg. In fact, in some of the newest vehicles, the wiring harness can have 5600 parts and over 200 different harnesses can be used in a particular car line due to variations in content.