{"id":199760,"date":"2026-01-25T05:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T05:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/an-unexpected-victim-of-rising-ram-prices-the-latest-connected-cars\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T05:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T05:55:14","slug":"an-unexpected-victim-of-rising-ram-prices-the-latest-connected-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/an-unexpected-victim-of-rising-ram-prices-the-latest-connected-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"An Unexpected Victim of Rising RAM Prices: The Latest Connected Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<h2>The Rising Cost of RAM Memory: A Broad Impact<\/h2>\n<p>What is happening with RAM memories is making one thing clear: the best time to buy memory modules is yesterday. The extraordinary increase in prices is affecting various components of our PCs, such as SSD units and graphics cards. However, the crisis extends far beyond just personal computing.<\/p>\n<h3>Data Centers Devour Memory<\/h3>\n<p>There has been a considerable rise in demand for high-end memory chips, particularly driven by the AI \u200b\u200bfever. As reported in <a rel=\"noopener, noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/tech\/ai\/memory-ram-shortage-2026-f55324b0\" target=\"_blank\">The Wall Street Journal<\/a>, data centers, both conventional and AI-dedicated, are predicted to consume more than 70% of the high-end memory chips produced by manufacturers by 2026.<\/p>\n<h3>This is Not Just About PCs or Mobiles<\/h3>\n<p>The first casualties of this RAM crisis are, of course, conventional desktops, laptops, and mobile devices. These devices utilize hundreds of millions of RAM modules yearly. As demand increases, other components such as SSD drives and graphics cards are also facing price hikes. But one noteworthy area significantly impacted is the automobile industry.<\/p>\n<h2>Cars: The Unexpected Victims of RAM Shortages<\/h2>\n<h3>From TVs to Cars<\/h3>\n<p>The frenzied rise in memory prices will ripple through various segments, affecting consumer electronics like Smart TVs, which now require memory and storage for their functions. However, the automobile sector may face even greater challenges. Modern vehicles have evolved into sophisticated computers on wheels, utilizing advanced memory systems.<\/p>\n<h3>Both Traditional and Modern Needs<\/h3>\n<p>Though car electronic systems historically relied on RAM, the requirements for memory have evolved significantly. With the rise of electric vehicles and the integration of become extensive infotainment and driver assistance systems, the need for memory in cars has surged. Today\u2019s vehicles often feature high-end memory modules comparable or superior to those found in smartphones and laptops.<\/p>\n<h3>Understanding Electronic Control Units (ECUs)<\/h3>\n<p>Modern automobiles deploy numerous Electronic Control Units (ECUs) for critical functions such as engine control, airbag systems, and transmission management. These vehicles typically contain between 50 and 150 ECUs, each equipped with RAM for temporary data and ROM for software operations.<\/p>\n<h3>The Infotainment Systems<\/h3>\n<p>The most striking example of memory usage in modern cars is the infotainment system. This includes touchscreens, navigation, and support for systems like CarPlay and Android Auto. Many cars are now equipped with 1-2 GB of DRAM, while cutting-edge models from manufacturers like BYD and NIO use up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory. For instance, Ford&#8217;s SYNC 5 system operates on a Qualcomm SoC that incorporates 16 GB of RAM.<\/p>\n<h3>Driving Assistance Systems Require Memory<\/h3>\n<p>Beyond infotainment, advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) utilize high-bandwidth RAM to process sensor data and real-time images essential for functions like adaptive cruise control and emergency braking. Notable manufacturers, such as Samsung, produce memory modules specifically designed for automotive applications. Tesla&#8217;s Hardware 4 autopilot system, for example, employs 16 GB of RAM.<\/p>\n<h3>A Forewarning from Micron<\/h3>\n<p>In December 2023, Micron noted that &#8220;a car needs more memory than a rocket.&#8221; Their findings indicated that, in 2023, the average vehicle utilized approximately 90 GB of RAM and NAND combined. This figure is expected to rise to 278 GB by 2026 and could reach 2 TB for high-end vehicles. Such statistics indicate how generative AI is reshaping the automotive industry. However, the underlying concern is the increasing competition for memory resources, driven mainly by data centers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/category\/general\/\" rel=\"dofollow\">General News &#8211; 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Rising Cost of RAM Memory: A Broad Impact What is happening with RAM memories is making one thing clear: the best time to buy memory modules is yesterday. The extraordinary increase in prices is affecting various components of our PCs, such as SSD units and graphics cards. However, the crisis extends far beyond just [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":199761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[2362,1514,82,767,45118,1409,3459,258],"class_list":["post-199760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-cars","tag-connected","tag-latest","tag-prices","tag-ram","tag-rising","tag-unexpected","tag-victim"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199760"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199762,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199760\/revisions\/199762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}