As global vehicle sales increased YoY in Q1 2025, unit sales of car infotainment systems also experienced growth, rising 7.4% YoY during the quarter, according to Counterpoint Research’s Q1 2025 Global Passenger Vehicle Infotainment Tracker. The US was the only major market to see a decline, impacted by tariffs on imported vehicles and non-US content in vehicles assembled in this market. The Middle East and Africa (MEA) emerged as the fastest-growing region, seeing 22% YoY growth, albeit from a smaller base of vehicles sold. Larger markets like China and Japan recorded over 10% YoY growth, supported by strong domestic demand.
In China, automaker BYD saw a major YoY increase in Q1 due to a mix of its aggressive pricing and willingness to provide a range of features, from advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to infotainment, across its lineup, even for entry models. For its infotainment systems, the company provides over-the-air (OTA) updates for the life of its vehicles, enabling the automaker to continually enhance the in-car experience the systems offer. In Japan, Toyota’s vehicle sales rebounded from lower sales in 2024 due to a production stoppage, helping drive the factory-fitted infotainment system market in that country in Q1.
Commenting on the supplier dynamics related to BYD’s rise in China, and increasingly in other markets, Senior Analyst Soumen Mandal said, “Among the top 10 suppliers, BYD Electronics posted the highest growth at 47% YoY, as BYD expanded into markets outside China, including Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe. BYD is vertically integrated and uses infotainment systems from its subsidiary BYD Electronics.”
Source: Counterpoint Research Global Passenger Vehicle Infotainment Tracker, Q1 2025
In addition to Chinese automakers’ impact on the market, China’s Desay SV has taken the top position in the automotive infotainment segment, showing its strength in China’s market. Desay SV has held the position for three consecutive quarters. As for how Desay SV has achieved this, Associate Director Greg Basich said, “Desay SV is a supplier to many of the top-selling automakers in China, including Volkswagen, Chery and Toyota. Desay SV continues to innovate with its solutions, integrating AI for proactive assistance in a variety of driving scenarios. The company is also focused on cross-domain integration, leveraging digital cockpit, ADAS and connected services to provide a user-centric experience.”
Although automakers and suppliers from China are making major inroads in the global automotive infotainment market, Tier 1 suppliers Harman and Panasonic continue to hold key positions in the market, with Harman taking the second position and Panasonic third.
Harman, which is known for its expertise in developing high-end infotainment and audio systems, is focusing on developing central controllers that can support both infotainment and safety features in a single ECU. Harman has also launched a cloud-based digital cockpit development solution to help automakers speed up digital cockpit development efforts. The company also has expertise in several other segments, like connectivity and displays. The company’s connected car services platform, Ignite, is used by automakers such as Volkswagen.
Panasonic, which has longstanding relationships with major Japanese automakers, has been involved in leveraging virtualization technologies, like with its vSkipGen solution, to help automotive customers reduce the time required to develop new digital cockpit systems. Panasonic also innovates in the digital cockpit segment, focusing on developing integrated cockpit solutions, audio systems and in-car wireless charging technologies.
For more information on Tier 1 suppliers’ efforts in the automotive digital cockpit segment, with detailed breakdowns of automotive supplier and automaker relationships, the comprehensive and in-depth ‘Global Passenger Vehicle Infotainment Tracker, Q1 2025’ is now available for purchase at report.counterpointresearch.com.
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