Wilsonville, OR – Not long ago, the cycle lead time at Tier 1 automakers was as much as four years for a new vehicle platform. The times they are a-changing.
Typical cycle times have been slashed to 24 months this year, with further reductions in store. According to data from supplied by
Mentor Graphics (
mentor.com), the new goal is 12 months by 2010, with some companies targeting as few as eight.
Meanwhile, electronics content of vehicles continues to rise. Boosted by new telematics and safety systems, auto electronics content is forecast to reach 40% of the total new car price by 2010, up from 23% last year, say IC Insights (icinsights.com) and Infineon (infineon.com).
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