Automotive opportunities for years to come

Montreal, Canada, February 16, 2012

Electronics industry market research and knowledge network announces availability of a new report entitled "Semiconductors in Automotive Applications."

2011 marked a major success for the global auto industry. Thanks to an increasing focus on improving gas efficiency, new generations of safety systems, this market is expected to hold considerable opportunities for semiconductor suppliers in the years to come.

In the first half of the year, most automotive markets around the world began to show signs of stabilization and recovery, allowing for carmakers' profits to recover. Then, in the second half of the year, sales quickly accelerated in areas like United States and China to the point where positive growth was attained for the entire industry as a whole.

This expansion has come despite some major negative factors to occur in 2011. For one, the deepening debt crisis in Europe has damaged end demand in the EU region and has shaken consumer confidence in other regional markets. The crisis has impacted the availability of credit for both businesses and consumers alike.

Europe remains the hub of automotive innovation, and is the single largest market for automotive semiconductor consumption. However, Asia Pacific is rapidly gaining ground in this space thanks to an emerging automotive industry and some of the fastest growing new car sales on Earth.

In terms of total automotive semiconductor sales, revenue is fairly well distributed between four major regional markets. Asia Pacific, which includes China, South Korea, Taiwan, and others, is currently the second smallest market. However, this is also the fastest growing region, outpacing the market as a whole. If these trends hold, APAC will become the second largest region for automotive electronics by 2013. The Americas, meanwhile, will remain the single smallest region by revenue in the 2012 global market.

Ethanol lowers the price of gasoline

TORONTO, Feb. 7, 2012 -

A report, paid for by the beef and hog producers of Canada and written by an organization that goes by the name of George Morris Centre, misrepresents the facts. The author, who works for the Centre, wrote a report saying that the corn demand for ethanol production is driving up the cost of animal feed. According to a member of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) Board,  the huge increase in corn production has prevented a negative impact on the livestock industry and feed prices.

The North American corn crop has almost doubled because farmers plant more prolific seeds for industrial corn and have improved agricultural practices. Ethanol production uses only the starch from the corn kernel, returning all the healthy protein, fibre, minerals and vitamins back into the feed market as Dried Distillers Grains.

The CRFA's findings were corroborated in a major independent study on ethanol published last November by the Conference Board of Canada. This study found that the rapid increase in North American ethanol production since 2004 has been met through surplus and higher yields of corn. It shows there is no evidence of land use changes inCanada or the U.S. due to ethanol production, and that the main cause of higher agricultural prices is the rising cost of crude oil.

"Without the ethanol industry, there would be a huge glut in the Canadian corn market," said Tim Haig, Acting President, CRFA. "Considering that about 70 per cent of Canada's corn crop is grown in Ontario, 28,000  Ontario grain farmers would suffer a significant drop in their income. Instead, the ethanol industry has been an economic boon to the agricultural sector by providing a robust and steady market for rural communities across the country."  Haig added

In addition to these benefits for farmers, ethanol has a huge environmental payoff. According to both Canada's Ministry of Natural Resources and the United States Department of Energy, using ethanol as an automobile fuel produces 62 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasoline.  As well, ethanol reduces every type of tailpipe emission, including NOx and SOx, and is an important factor in reducing smog over large cities.

A lesser known fact is that the smaller, lighter car engines with high horsepower coming onto the market today require a higher-level octane gasoline. The traditional way to increase octane is to boost the level of aromatics in the fuel, specifically benzene, toluene and xylene. All three of these compounds are carcinogenic. The alternative method of increasing octane is to add ethanol, which has an octane of 114 and delivers plenty of extra power. That's why Indy and NASCAR racers use ethanol.

"Canada's governments and governments around the world support ethanol because it is clear that ethanol is good for the environment, for Canadian farmers and consumers, and for the economy.  These governments know the facts." concludes Field.

The Elantra; Best Selling Car of the Year

MARKHAM, ON, Feb. 1, 2012 - Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. announced on Wednesday that it sold 7,460 vehicles in January, representing an 11.6% increase over the same month in 2011. The January result represents the 37^th consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth and the best-ever January in company history. The January result tops a month where the Elantra was named the 2012 North American Car of the Year.

"We always believed that Hyundai offered award-winning vehicles, but the Elantra becoming the North American Car of the Year was real vindication for how much effort the designers and engineers invested to get the car right," said Steve Kelleher, President and CEO of Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. "The Elantra is now our best-selling vehicle and was a major factor in helping us become Canada's best-selling passenger car brand in 2011."

On top of the Elantra's win, the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) also announced that the Accent and Elantra are two of the three finalists for the Canadian Car of the Year. The company's Veloster 3-door coupe is also a finalist for the Best New Design Award. AJAC will announce the winners February 16 at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.

In January, Hyundai vehicles consuming less than 5.0 L/100 km represented 50.1% of total sales.

Some quick facts:

Nameplate	Jan. 2011	% Change
Accent	1,329	+ 52.9 %
Elantra	1,926	- 14.5 %
Elantra Touring	473	+ 21.3 %
Veloster	470	n/a
Sonata	701	+ 6.2 %
Genesis	45	+ 80 %
Equus	9	+ 125 %
Genesis Coupe	119	+ 60.8 %
Tucson	899	- 16.8 %
Santa Fe	1,365	+ 9.8 %
Veracruz	123	+ 50 %

	Jan. 2011
Vehicles that consume less than 5.0 L/100km	3,740
Mix of total sales	50.1 %