The UC220 navigation chip has been driven by Changan, the leading car manufacturer in China.Unicore is the first BDS/GPS car navigation chip supplier in China to get AEC-Q100 certification by a third party lab.

“Pushed by pouring innovative applications Internet of vehicles and smart cars, not only the auto is transforming into an electromechanical industry from its conventional mechanical one, but also reshaping the cost structure of a car greatly,” said Kevin Tsui, General Manager, China Region, iST.

“In foreseeable future, more and more electronic components/modules will be applied in car manufacturing. This makes the auto industry facing the challenges of integrating the reliability certification of automotive electronics and processing the quality control in supply chain effectively,” he added.

This UC220 project is initiated by Changan and accomplished by iST and Unicore together. On the one hand, players in the auto industry are paying more attention to quality of car components and alignment with the global standards. On the other hand, maybe more importantly, it marks the turning point where chip suppliers in China are leaving the consumer electronics’ design for function into the new era of car chips’ design for reliability and safety.

The AEC-Q100 certification for UC220 by Unicore also proved the latter’s quality level in vehicle navigation chips. It is indeed the very first step into the automotive electronics markets. More importantly, it is the key to supplying its chips to more car manufacturers, Mr. Tsui further noted.

“In past one year, chip UC220 has gone through up to 22 strict test projects required by AEC-Q100 Grade 3 reliability specification successfully. The UC220 BDS navigation chip is now certified to work in ambient temperature range of -40℃~85℃ for long period of time but also more than 10-year life cycle and relatively high operation reliability. After integrating BDS chip in car parts for automobile brands, Unicore is now set to become the first choice of built-in navigation chip supplier with reliable products, services and solutions,” commented WU Yongqiang, Operation VP, Unicore.

“Getting AEC-Q100 certification together with iST is our best choice. The cross-strait car electronics team of iST, a third party lab, has demonstrated its professionalism along with solutions in each stage of the certification process, which is critical to this perfect outcome. We hope to have more cooperation in our new products in future,” further noted by Mr. Wu.

LIU Bo, VP, Changan said, “Car electronics supplier is the key in the supply chain to ensure global quality level of a car. Being a player in domestic auto industry aiming at the international market, Changan cannot rely on strict car components screening without supports of comprehensive certification and inspection on PCB and assembling process.”

“Car electronics supply chain demands wide range of specialty knowledge. We choose iST as our third party certification lab not only for its comprehensive AEC certification required testing capacity but also for its professional technical supports in reliability and failure analysis. iST will be highly welcomed in partnering with us in the field of quality certification,” summarized by Mr. He Ju Gang, Deputy President, Research Institute, Changan Automobile.