Driving Security, Efficiency and Safety: ABI Research Investigates Automotive RFID.

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. -- From immobilizers to tire pressure monitors, on the assembly line and in the supply chain, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is making its presence felt throughout the automotive industry.

"The automotive space is a complicated one," says Robert Foppiani, ABI Research RFID analyst and author of a new study of the many automotive applications of the technology. "While RFID was first used in the auto industry twenty years ago, it is now becoming ubiquitous both in the vehicle itself and in the industrial processes used to produce and distribute it. With respect to manufacturing, Asia is definitely the hotspot, with European and, to a lesser extent, cash-strapped North American automakers following the trend."

The largest current segment for automotive RFID is in vehicle entry and security systems, principally the immobilizers that disable a vehicle unless its RFID reader detects the correct tag in the driver's ignition key. Some 40% of new cars being produced in North America today contain such immobilizers. "While RFID immobilizers have existed for more than a decade," notes Foppiani, "volumes have increased in the past five years and in 2005 the sector generated $3.7 billion in worldwide revenues."

The entry and security segments may have the highest profile, but Foppiani believes that the greatest growth potential for automotive RFID lies in automating the manufacturing process. As in other mass manufacturing industries, RFID can play a significant role in streamlining assembly lines. Both General Motors and Volkswagen, for example, employ Identec's RFID tags and readers in their manufacturing operations. Other large players in RFID assembly line automation include Escort Memory Systems and, in Europe, Siemens.

RFID can also play a more traditional role: providing visibility and security to the supply chain. Containers of GM parts moving from Canada to the United States, for instance, are RFID-tagged. The technology helps keep track of finished BMWs, Minis and Land Rovers as they leave the factory, and in the huge parking lots of the Broekman Group's automotive division in Rotterdam, a WhereNet wireless tracking system can precisely locate any one of 40,000 vehicles parked there at a given time.

The new ABI Research study, "Automotive RFID Markets: Vehicle Entry and Security Systems, TPMS, Automotive Manufacturing, ETC and AVI" examines how manufacturers are beginning to explore the use of RFID in improving manufacturing processes as well as adding functionality to vehicles. It includes not only RFID, but technologies utilizing RF, such as tire pressure monitoring systems and vehicle entry and security systems. It forms part of the company's Automotive Systems Research Service.

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations supporting annual research programs, intelligence services and market reports in automotive, wireless, semiconductors, broadband, and energy. For information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.