EL SEGUNDO, CA – With car sales plunging, demand for automotive electronics is dropping as well, except for the key area of electronic stability control systems, whose sales are expected to continue to rise in the coming years. This will generate attractive opportunities for suppliers of microelectromechanical sensors used in these systems, according to iSuppli Corp.

iSuppli recently reported that 2008 is expected to be the worst year in nearly a generation for the U.S. car market, with shipments of just 13.3 million units, down 17.7% year-over-year. Western European auto sales are expected to decline to 15.4 million, down 8.2% compared to 2007.

However, worldwide penetration of ESC technology in new cars will grow to 57% in 2012, up from 28% in 2006, says the firm.

“Shipments of ESC systems and associated MEMS will continue to rise, despite the current downturn, due to government mandates requiring stability control in the United States and later in Europe. This provides opportunities for at least six players new to the ESC market, either in development or sampling gyroscopes, and likewise four companies developing product for accelerometers. We expect the new offerings may begin in the truck market before attacking the large automotive OEMs,” said Richard Dixon, senior analyst, MEMS for iSuppli.

VTI Technologies was the leader in MEMS accelerometers in 2007 with a 53% share of industry revenue. VTI supplies all the MEMS accelerometers used by Continental Automotive Systems, the leading supplier of ESC systems.

Bosch is in second place, supplying accelerometers for its own systems and to Mobis. It held a 29% share of ESC accelerometer revenue last year, according to iSuppli.

Systron Donner was the gyroscope market leader with a 44% share of revenue in 2007. Bosch was second last year, with 30% of revenue as a result of sales of gyroscopes for its own ESC systems.

However, the company to watch in this segment is Panasonic, says iSuppli, which held the No. 4 rank for ESC gyroscope revenue last year. The firm managed to surpass Silicon Sensing Systems in unit shipments, giving it the No. 3 ranking based on volume.

“Panasonic is on the rise in the ESC gyroscope market with a robust and inexpensive new gyroscope, and could jump several more places in the next five years,” Dixon said.

In 2007, Bosch led the pressure sensor market with 54% share of revenue. Sensata, a 2006 spin-off from Texas Instruments Inc., is the second major player with a 34% share of revenue, with Denso a distant third place, says the research firm.