The Japanese semiconductor solutions major is betting big on the demand for advanced automotive chipsets from the Indian market which is seeing a growing penetration of ADAS and electrification technologies.
19 Sep 2025 | 7761 Views | By Mayank Dhingra
Japanese semiconductor giant Renesas Electronics is betting big on the demand for advanced automotive chipsets from the Indian market which is seeing a growing penetration of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and electrification technologies.
At the Electronica India 2025 show in Bengaluru, the company showcased a range of automotive ...
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Japanese semiconductor giant Renesas Electronics is betting big on the demand for advanced automotive chipsets from the Indian market which is seeing a growing penetration of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and electrification technologies.
At the Electronica India 2025 show in Bengaluru, the company showcased a range of automotive MCUs and SoCs - scalable for vehicle infotainment, driver monitoring, and zonal E/E architecture. Its portfolio on display spanned high-performance computing, embedded processing, analog and connectivity, and power management solutions, aimed at applications across automotive and industrial sectors.
Speaking to Autocar Professional on the sidelines of the event, Malini Narayanamoorthi, India Country Manager & VP, MID Engineering, Analog & Connectivity Group, Renesas India, said, “Vehicle architectures are increasingly shifting from distributed to centralised / zone-based architectures, and we are trying to find the sweet spot between these two. As we engage with OEMs, we see a lot of different approaches being adopted. Hence, we are trying to be as modular as possible in providing flexibility to these customers in their quest of integrating multiple functions in a single zone.”
The company exhibited its latest driver monitoring solutions and steering wheel sensors for ADAS applications and also showcased Industrial IoT tools like metering systems at the show. According to Narayanamoorthi, India continues to play a key role in the development of these technologies, and across its R&D centres in Bengaluru, Noida, Hyderabad and Pune, the company is undertaking global project development in collaboration with other markets.
“We are developing some high-end automotive SoCs in collaboration with other geographies. While we have several chip design teams in India, we also have our solutions teams in the country and we are focusing on several solutions, for instance, for the two-wheeler segment which is quite unique to India,” she said.
Renesas Electronics is creating reference design chips for instrument clusters for entry-level scooters, while also offering solutions for more premium two-wheelers in the market that get more pronounced connectivity and interactive features. On the EV front, it is developing battery management systems and chipsets for motor controllers for applications in electric vehicles.
Focused on R&D Growth
The company, which presently employs around 850 associates across its four locations in India, says it is well poised to hit its target of scaling the total headcount to 1,000 associates by the end of the calendar year. “Renesas India is valued for the R&D effort coming out of the country, and we build solutions for the local and global markets. Globally, Renesas has been extremely supportive of Renesas’ growth in India,” highlighted Narayanamoorthi.
Furthermore, to bridge the industry-academia gap, it is also tying up with several marquee institutions such as IIT Hyderabad to give meaningful opportunities to students and prepare them for seamlessly getting integrated into the future workforce.
It also signed an MoU with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) to impart practical knowledge on embedded systems to 271 colleges across the country. “We are putting an end-to-end course and a PCB design module which spans from thinking of the design, hardware, as well as software,” Narayanamoorthi said.
At the Electronica India 2025 show, students displayed their innovative solutions around EV battery management systems developed with Renesas design kits, while along with its partner Quest Global, the company also showcased demonstration of autonomous driving and ADAS at the mega event in Bengaluru.
Betting Big on India Story
Renesas Electronics, which operates semiconductor fabrication plants in Japan, Malaysia and the US, is establishing an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facility in Gujarat through a joint venture with CG Power and Stars Microelectronics.
“Our growth in India is closely related to India’s growth and we are very excited to be a part of this transformational journey with the government push towards electronics manufacturing through the PLI and DLI schemes, as well as skilling initiatives,” Narayanamoorthi pointed out.
“Looking at it from the perspective of Renesas, we have grown tremendously over the last couple of years, and the continued reskilling initiatives and chip-to-startup (C2S) programmes are going to help us propel further,” she added. As it aspires to contribute to 10% of the global Renesas revenues by 2030, the company foresees the overall growth in the Indian economy acting as a key lever.
“The entire ecosystem is propelling itself forward and we are hopeful that these tailwinds will help us from an India market standpoint. We will continue to put in place a system-level thinking to achieve our target,” Narayanamoorthi signed off on an optimistic note.