Sony Seeks Leadership in Image Sensors

Sony Corp. is mounting a push to become the auto industry's top supplier of image sensors, the Financial Times reports.

Shigeo Ohba, who heads the company's image sensor business, says Sony's goal is to surpass all other suppliers in such devices by the time self-driving cars hit the market about 10 years from now.

Sony currently controls about 40% of the worldwide market for CMOS sensors used in smartphones, digital cameras and other consumer electronics. But it ranks a distance fifth in such applications for cars with a 5% share, the FT says.

Last autumn Sony announced it will begin mass-producing CMOS chips for cars by the end of this year. The company also has set up a new business group devoted to image sensors for vehicles. And it has invested about 100 million yen ($845,000) to buy a 2% stake in ZMP, a Japanese startup company developing self-driving vehicles.