Recently, there has been news in the market that Da Liguang, a major mobile phone lens manufacturer, and Sunny Universe, a major lens manufacturer, have begun to raise their prices, which has triggered extensive discussions in the industry. It is reported that Da Li Guang has begun to raise the ** of high-end lenses in the Chinese mainland market, and Sunny also plans to increase the price of new products in the first quarter of next year. It is expected that some 5P lenses will **20% to 30%. This rumor of price increase has attracted great attention from the market, according to Da Liguang said yesterday, he is unwilling to comment on a single customer order and ** dynamics, and Sunny internal people also said that the lens does have a certain ** adjustment. The industry generally believes that this is also a manifestation of the reluctance of lens manufacturers to lose money.
It is worth mentioning that in the past two months, there has been a ** increase in mobile phone lenses in Chinese mainland, of which low-end 4P lenses** have risen by more than 30%. Coupled with the news of Sunny's price increase, it shows that lens manufacturers have begun to adjust ** to cope with the current market situation. In the past few years, the smartphone market has been oversupplied, leading to a tragic war. However, with the gradual recovery of the smartphone market, especially Huawei's launch of new 5G machines, which has injected new impetus into the market, manufacturers have raised prices. This trend of price increase is not only reflected in the lens market, but also has an impact on the camera module market.
In addition to the price increase of lenses, there are recent rumors that Samsung, a major CIS chip manufacturer, has notified customers that the price of its CIS chips will increase in the first quarter of 2024, and the increase is expected to be about 25%, and some products will even increase by as much as 30%. In addition, the two sensors OV50H and OV50D of domestic CIS manufacturer Haowei Technology are also likely to increase in price in December this year, an increase of about 10%. This means that the CIS market will usher in a comprehensive wave of price increases.
The reasons for this wave of price increases can be attributed to a number of factors. First of all, the recovery of smartphone market demand has made CIS chip manufacturers see the opportunity to increase prices. Secondly, the surplus of the CIS chip market has led to a war, and manufacturers are operating at a loss. In addition, multiple unfavorable factors around the world have affected the demand for smartphones, such as the epidemic, the Sino-US war, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and inflation, which have further intensified the competition in the CIS market. With the recovery of the smartphone market and the guidance of CIS manufacturers' price increases, downstream camera module manufacturers will also passively follow the price increases.
The camera module is an integrated module of the camera and other related components, which is a key component of smartphones and other consumer electronic devices. The current market structure shows that LGINNOTEK ranks first with a market share of 35%, while Foxconn (Sharp) and Sunny Optics occupy a 10% share each. The camera module market experienced years of continuous growth until 2021, driven by demand for smartphones, electric vehicles, tablets, and laptops. However, in 2022, the CCM industry's revenue shrank slightly due to the decline in smartphone shipments and the adjustment in in-vehicle camera shipments.
However, the analyst agency YoleIntelligence predicts that in 2023, the camera module market will appear**. Mobile and consumer applications accounted for 96% of camera module shipments, with mobile devices contributing 5.1 billion modules, or 93%. As the smartphone market changes, the mobile market is shifting towards higher resolution and larger sensors, and the increasing complexity of camera modules is driving up the average selling price of products. In addition, the demand for automotive cameras is also increasing, mainly driven by increasing safety regulations and the demand for autonomous driving. In addition, the industrial imaging market is booming.
Overall, the recovery of the camera module market still faces some challenges, but with the gradual recovery of the smartphone market and the price increase of CIS chip manufacturers and lens manufacturers, the market is expected to resume growth. Camera module manufacturers will face the pressure of rising costs, but they can control costs by following price increases. It is worth noting that the market landscape will also undergo certain changes, with leading players further consolidating their market share, while others will need to increase technological innovation efforts to remain competitive.