Re: 8 bit microcontroller market

Ian Bell wrote:
Thanks for your input Bill. I want the information simply to satisfy my
curiosity. Are there really more PICs made a year than 8051 derivatives? Or
does Motorola still head the 8 bit pack. It is said that more 8 bitters
are used in Japan than anywhere else - so how many and what type? Just how
many of each are made? How many AVRs etc etc? What proportion (by number by
value) is the 8, 16 and 32 bit segments and how have these changed over the
years? and so on. The last publicly available data for rough market
breakdown is for 1990 to 2000 and is:

WorldWide Microcontroller Shipments (in millions of dollars)

'90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00
4-bit 1,393 1,597 1,596 1,698 1,761 1,826 1,849 1,881 1,856 1,816 1,757
8-bit 2,077 2,615 2,862 3,703 4,689 5,634 6,553 7,529 8,423 9,219 9,715
16-bit 192 303 340 484 810 1,170 1,628 2,191 2,969 3,678 4,405


WorldWide Microcontroller Shipments (in Millions)

'90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00
4-bit 778 906 979 1036 1063 1110 1100 1096 1064 1025 970
8-bit 588 753 843 1073 1449 1803 2123 2374 2556 2681 2700
16-bit 22 38 45 59 106 157 227 313 419 501 585

What has happened since?


Google for Microcontroller market share, and you'll find many snippets.

Usually from some company claiming they have gained on the pack....

eg August 2005
"... 32-bit market -- a market Sanghi estimates is worth $3 billion a year. The 8-bit microcontroller market, in contrast, is now hovering around $5 billion a year."

Also, annual reports have good info, where you can work out ASPs and
run rates.
These can also "reality check" some of the boasting, and some of the
claims out there do not survive this audit trail!

[ Companies accountants are more carefull with numbers, than the
marketdroids ! ]

eg Microchips Average Selling price still hovers close to $1, whilst
Freescales 8 bit ASP is much higher.

Thus even the 8 bit market, has some quite separate separate sectors.

There is also confusion over what is uC, DSP and what is 16/32 bit,
and should smart cards belong in uC sector, and if so, under which size ?

These days, a sales breakdown by pin-count, and on-chip memory would be more usefull, than someone's pigenhole tag.

-jg


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: 8 bit microcontroller market
    ... microcontroller market. ... There is plenty of anecdotal evidence around, ... usually to show a particular manufacturer in a favourable light but apart ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)
  • Re: 8 bit microcontroller market
    ... bit microcontroller market. ... The market has become more specialized in recent years, ... to make generalizations about which maker is the cheapest, ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)