Current traditional vehicles has low level electronicization, so the demand for PCB  is small, and the value of PCB is also relatively low, PCB is about 2% in the total cost of electronic devices. The average PCB usage per vehicle is about 1 square meter, and the value is 60 US dollars. The consumption of high-end models is 2-3 square meters and the value is about 120-130 US dollars.

In the traditional automobiles, the power system requires the most PCBs with a share of 32%, mainly including engine control units, starters, generators, transmission control devices, fuel injection, power steering systems, etc. Body electronics system is 25%, including automotive lighting, HVAC, power doors and seats, TPMS, etc. Security control systems, accounting for about 22%, mainly including ADAS, ABS, airbags, etc. Other also includes display, entertainment and other on-board electronic systems.

Compared with traditional automobiles, new energy vehicles have a significant increase in demand for PCBs due to their unique power system. New energy vehicles are mainly divided into pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. The power system of pure electric vehicles consists of only electric motors and power batteries, and the drive system is simple. The hybrid vehicle includes both the engine and the electric motor. During normal driving, it is mainly driven by the fuel engine. When the electric power is sufficient, it is driven by the electric motor.

The power system in pure electric vehicles adopts electric drive, which will completely replace the drive system of traditional cars. Therefore, PCB incremental substitution is created. This part of incremental increase mainly comes from the electronic control system (MCU, VCU, BMS). For hybrid vehicles, a new set of electric drive systems is introduced while retaining the drive systems of conventional cars, which will also produce a superposition of car PCBs.

Whether it is hybrid or pure electric, the specific sources of PCB increments are three major power control systems (VCU, MCU and BMS).

VCU: Composed of control circuits and algorithm software, is the control center of the power system, monitor the status of the vehicle and implement the vehicle's power control decision. The control circuit in the VCU needs to use PCB, and the amount is about 0.03 square meters.

MCU: Composed of control circuit and algorithm software, is an important unit of the electronic energy control system for new energy vehicles. The role is to control the motor operation according to the decision instructions issued by the VCU so that it can output the required AC power according to the VCU instructions. The amount of control circuit PCB Board in the MCU is about 0.15 square meters.

BMS: Is the core component of a battery cell. By collecting and calculating parameters such as voltage, current, temperature, and SOC etc, then control the charge or discharge process of the battery to achieve protection and comprehensive management of the battery.

BMS generally uses a more stable multi-layer printed circuit board, and the unit value is higher than other circuit boards. The role is to monitor the voltage, current, and other indicators of the cell, achieve balanced control, prevent over-voltage and over-current damage to the battery life and performance. Due to the complex architecture, BMS requires a large amount of PCBs. The main control circuit board usage is about 0.24 square meters, and the management unit is 2-3 square meters.

Because different control units have different requirements for the PCB board, the prices of the products are also quite different. The main control circuit board of the BMS unit can be higher than the slave control board. In contrast, the PCB used by the VCU and the MCU is a common PCB board, and the added value is not too high. 

At the same time, the number of individual management units for various types of BMS is also different, resulting in differences in the amount of PCB used by different models, with an average of about 3-5 square meters. The total vehicle PCB usage is between 5-8 square meters and the value is far higher than the traditional limousine.

In recent years, the global market for new energy vehicles has been developing rapidly. According to statistics, in 2013, the sales of new global energy passenger vehicles was only 147,000. From 2014 to 2016, the global sales of new energy passenger vehicles were 350,000, 550,000, and 770,000 respectively, with a compound annual growth rate of 48.3%.

According to the statistics of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the total sales of new energy vehicles in the world will reach 6 million by 2020, which will estimate that the new energy vehicles will bring about 12 billion market increments to the global automotive PCB Board market.