The global intelligent power module market consists of various global, regional, and local service providers that are continuously upgrading their products and solutions to enhance their market position. The increasing demand for electric and hybrid vehicles in China and the US, and the rising demand of IPM in consumer electronics devices are the key factors that aid the market growth. The service providers compete based on cost, power efficiency, and reliability of intelligent power modules to sustain in the market. It is important for the service providers to provide a cost-effective and advanced intelligent power module, to maintain their market position and gain a competitive advantage.
Vendors in the intelligent power module market are focusing on improving their services and expanding into the underdeveloped and developing economies. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Fuji Electric Co Limited, Infineon Technologies AG, ON Semiconductor Corporation, STMicroelectronics, ROHM Co Ltd, Sanken Electric Co Ltd, Texas Instruments, and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd are the major players in the market, competing in terms of products offered, high power efficiency, and product reliability. Their primary focus is on to provide intelligent power modules for different applications such as air conditioning, electric vehicles, refrigerators, and renewable energy systems. Although global players are dominating the market, some other regional and local players with small market shares also have a prominent presence in this market. The major players are likely to strengthen their presence worldwide through the mergers and acquisition of local and regional players for expanding their solutions in those regions during the forecast period. The improvement of the global economic scenario combined with technological advancements in the emerging economies such as India, South Africa, China, Brazil, Argentina, and other under-developed countries, is likely to fuel the market growth, thereby making it an ideal time to expand the intelligent power module market geographically and increase the global market share.
STMicroelectronics NV along with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of semiconductor products including standard and discrete components, application-specific integrated circuits, semi-custom, and full-custom devices and application specific standard products for digital, analog and mix-signal applications. STMicroelectronics focuses on long-term value creation by creating industry-leading products and solutions. The company is committed to enhance processes, strengthen its technological expertise, follow best practices, and offer the highest level of quality in its products and services.
Infineon Technologies AG provides semiconductor and system solutions for various applications. The company’s business divisions are automotive, industrial power control, power management & multimarket, and digital security solutions. Infineon Technologies AG is focused on sustainable and profitable growth in markets which allow it to be successful with its core competencies in the long term. The company also concentrates on the automotive, power supply, industrial power electronics, radio frequency technologies, and security markets.
Texas Instruments Incorporated designs, manufactures, and markets analog and digital semiconductors and sells it to electronic designers globally. The company operates through three segments—analog, embedded processing, and others. The company markets its product through direct sales, distributors, and online channels. Texas Instruments has more than 43,000 patents worldwide and specializes in semiconductors, analog, DSP, DLP, power management, education technology, and microcontrollers MCU. Texas Instruments operates globally with its presence across 35 countries. The company heavily invests in R&D for product innovation for the industrial and automotive sectors.
Threat of New Entrants
New system integrators are increasingly entering the global integrated power modules market, which is affecting the established players. The initial cost required for establishing manufacturing facilities in the global intelligent power modules market is moderate. Furthermore, low cost of manufacturing the modules and favorable government regulations further lower the barriers of entry for the new players. Therefore, new entrants are expected to pose a high threat to the existing players in the global IPM market during the forecast period.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
There are various global and local players present in the intelligent power module market, which includes Texas Instruments Incorporated, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and Infineon Technologies AG. Due to the presence of a number of suppliers, the competition among them is high. Furthermore, the product differentiation in the offerings of these suppliers is low. Thus, the component suppliers of the intelligent power module are expected to have low bargaining power during the forecast period.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
The buyers in the intelligent power module market comprise component manufacturers as well as system integrators. Also, the market has a large number of manufacturers of IPMs which makes the bargaining power of buyers high. Moreover, the presence of local manufacturers further increases their bargaining power. Companies such as Samsung Electronics, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation buy the electronic components in bulk from the suppliers, which enable them to dictate the prices. Furthermore, the technical expertise of buyers is high which encourages some companies to have in-house manufacturing of these electronic components. Therefore, the bargaining power of the buyers is expected to be high during the forecast period.
Threat of Substitutes
Currently, intelligent power modules are being widely integrated with various consumer electronics including washing machines, refrigerators, and air-conditioners. At present, there is no available replacement for intelligent power modules in the market; therefore the threat of the substitutes is likely to be low in the upcoming years. This coupled with the wide scope of IPMs for various end-use applications is likely to fuel their adoption in the forecast period.
Intensity of Rivalry
The players in the global market for intelligent power module are expected to witness a high degree of rivalry during the forecast period. This is because the products offered by the suppliers are not differentiated, which results in low brand loyalty among the buyers. Moreover, the presence of local players in the market contributes significantly to the competition.
