Lower resistance means less energy wasted as heat, which translates directly into longer range.
As the world's automakers race toward electrification, the quiet revolution inside the electric vehicle is happening at the transistor level. Mitsubishi Electric has announced a fifth-generation silicon carbide chip that reduces electrical resistance by a quarter compared to its predecessor — a refinement that, multiplied across millions of vehicles, translates into meaningful gains in range, efficiency, and durability. The announcement, timed to coincide with the industry's premier power electronics gathering in Nuremberg, signals that the competition for the heart of the EV powertrain is intensifying as the industry approaches mass scale.
- Every major automaker has committed to electrification, and the scramble for better, more efficient power semiconductors has become one of the defining supply-chain battles of the decade.
- Mitsubishi Electric's new SiC-MOSFET chips cut on-resistance by 25% — enough of a margin to affect real-world driving range and reduce heat waste in the inverters that govern EV motors.
- A proprietary trench structure and hardened manufacturing process address a chronic vulnerability: semiconductor performance that degrades under the relentless thermal and electrical stress of daily driving.
- Sample shipments begin in late June, with showcases planned at PCIM Expo 2026 in Nuremberg and exhibitions across Japan and China — a coordinated rollout that points toward broader commercialization, even as a mass-production timeline remains unannounced.
- Rivals including Wolfspeed and STMicroelectronics are pressing forward with their own advanced SiC products, making this a crowded race where a 25% efficiency edge could determine who wins the next generation of EV supply contracts.
Mitsubishi Electric announced this week that it will begin shipping samples of its fifth-generation silicon carbide transistors in late June — components engineered to make electric vehicles more efficient and extend their driving range. The company is distributing two variants of these SiC-MOSFETs in bare die form to manufacturers of the power electronics that drive EV motors and integrated axles.
The engineering advance centers on a proprietary trench structure that reduces electrical resistance by roughly 25 percent over the previous generation. In EV powertrains, lower resistance means less energy lost as heat, which compounds into longer range and better efficiency across the lifetime of a vehicle — and across millions of units in a manufacturer's fleet.
Reliability over time was also a central design concern. The transistors are built to maintain stable electrical characteristics through years of thermal cycling and electrical stress, suppressing the gradual drift in power loss and on-resistance that can erode inverter performance in real-world driving conditions.
Mitsubishi Electric will present the chips at PCIM Expo & Conference 2026 in Nuremberg from June 9–11, with additional showings planned in Japan, China, and other markets. The staged global rollout suggests preparation for broader commercialization, though no mass-production timeline has been announced. With Wolfspeed, STMicroelectronics, and others all advancing their own SiC offerings, a 25 percent resistance improvement is a credible signal that Mitsubishi Electric intends to hold its ground as the EV semiconductor market scales toward tens of millions of vehicles a year.
Mitsubishi Electric announced this week that it will begin shipping samples of a new generation of silicon carbide transistors in late June—components designed to make electric vehicles more efficient and give them longer driving range. The company is sending out two types of these fifth-generation SiC-MOSFETs in bare die form, the raw semiconductor material before final packaging, to manufacturers who build the power electronics that control EV motors and integrated drive axles.
The significance lies in the engineering. These new transistors feature what Mitsubishi calls a proprietary trench structure that reduces electrical resistance by approximately 25 percent compared to the company's previous generation. In the context of EV powertrains, lower resistance means less energy wasted as heat, which translates directly into longer range on a single charge and improved overall efficiency. For a vehicle manufacturer, that difference compounds across millions of units sold.
The company's manufacturing process also addresses a practical concern that has long plagued semiconductor reliability in automotive applications: performance doesn't degrade significantly over time. The transistors maintain stable electrical characteristics even after years of use, and they suppress fluctuations in power loss and on-resistance that would otherwise accumulate through thermal cycling and electrical stress. This matters because an EV inverter operates continuously during driving, cycling through temperature extremes and electrical loads that would expose any weakness in the design.
Mitsubishi Electric plans to display these samples at PCIM Expo & Conference 2026, the major power electronics trade show running June 9-11 in Nuremberg, Germany. The company will also show the technology at exhibitions across Japan, China, and other markets. This staged rollout suggests the company is preparing for broader commercialization—moving from samples to production quantities—though no timeline for mass production was announced.
The competitive landscape for SiC semiconductors has intensified sharply over the past three years as every major automaker has committed to electrification. Wolfspeed, STMicroelectronics, and other suppliers have all released advanced SiC products, and the race to reduce on-resistance and improve efficiency has become a key differentiator. A 25 percent improvement is substantial enough to matter in real-world vehicle performance and cost, making this announcement a signal that Mitsubishi Electric intends to remain a serious player in the EV semiconductor supply chain as the industry scales toward tens of millions of vehicles annually.
Citações Notáveis
The company's proprietary manufacturing process suppresses performance degradation and fluctuations in power loss and on-resistance, ensuring stable quality even after long-term use.— Mitsubishi Electric
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does on-resistance matter so much in an EV? It's just one number on a spec sheet.
It's not just a number—it's energy. Every watt that gets wasted as heat in that transistor is a watt that doesn't move the car forward. Over a 300-mile drive, that compounds into real range loss.
So this 25 percent improvement—how much range are we talking about?
That depends on the vehicle and driving conditions, but for a typical EV, you're looking at several miles of additional range per charge. More importantly, it means less cooling required, which saves weight and cost elsewhere in the system.
Why did it take until the fifth generation to get here?
Each generation requires new manufacturing techniques and materials science. You're fighting against the physics of the material itself. Getting to 25 percent better than the previous generation means solving problems that didn't exist before.
And the durability aspect—why is that harder than just making it efficient?
Because efficiency and stability often work against each other. You can push a transistor to be more efficient, but then it becomes more sensitive to temperature swings and electrical stress. Mitsubishi's claiming they solved both at once, which is the real engineering feat.
What happens next? Do we see these in cars soon?
Not immediately. Samples now means they're asking manufacturers to test and validate. If those tests go well, you might see production versions in 2027 or 2028 models. But the fact that they're showing it publicly now suggests they're confident enough to commit.