Frost & Sullivan Executives: MLCC Market Divergence: Consumer Segment Returns to Rationality, AI/Automotive High-End Products Still Short in Supply and Prices Continue to Rise

Frost & Sullivan Insight

"一小时一个价。"近期，MLCC（多层陶瓷电容器）市场流传着这样的说法。部分高容量MLCC现货价格快速上涨，极端情况下，较此前价格最高涨至数倍甚至十倍；与此同时，普通消费级MLCC却开始降价。这种分化，正在成为这一轮MLCC行情最鲜明的特征。MLCC被称为"电子工业大米"，几乎存在于所有电子产品中，包括手机、家电、新能源汽车、AI服务器等。过去一年，MLCC经历多轮涨价。2025年下半年至2026年上半年，部分产品价格持续上调；进入7月，村田、国巨、三星电机等海外厂商再次调价，部分产品涨幅达到30%甚至更高。

在此背景下，《时代周报》记者就MLCC的价格分化采访弗若斯特沙利文（Frost & Sullivan，以下简称"沙利文"）沙利文中国业务主管合伙人兼董事总经理陆景。

"Time Weekly"

Q: How do you expect MLCC prices to be in the coming year? How long will this price increase last, and what key factors determine it?

Lu Jing

Frost & Sullivan China Business Director Partner and Managing Director

(1) Second half of 2026: The pricing logic remains valid, but it has shifted from "full price increases" to "price increases for high-end specifications".

• From the second half of 2025 to February 2026:Frost & Sullivan reports that global passive components (MLCC, resistors, inductors, tantalum capacitors, magnetic beads, etc.) are entering a period of price increases across all categories, multiple rounds, and regional levels.The increase ranges generally from 5% to 30%.The prices of high-end categories have seen even greater increases.

• Starting from April 2026:Global Passive ComponentsFrost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan China LeadLeo Research Institute LeadLeo YUAN CAPITAL SULLIVAN TELE-TREND CLOUD TECHNOLOGY TradeGo MagnaTEC Automotive & Mobility Environmental Protection & Energy Saving Technology Logistics & Supply Chain MATERNAL AND INFANT Education & Training Real Estate & Property Catering & New Retailing Advanced Materials Healthcare & Life Sciences Semiconductor & Chip COMMERCIAL AVIATION Technology, Media and Telecom LANDSCAPING Big Data & AI Infrastructure Construction & Utilities Culture & Entertainment AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND FISHERY Food & Beverage Fintech SHIPPING AND PORTS Dual Carbon & New Energy Mining & Metals Public Sector Cross-Border E-commerce Trade Building Technology, Construction & Decoration Beauty & Fashion Smart Homes Digital Infrastructure Enterprise Services Consumer ElectronicsFrost & Sullivan prioritizes ensuring supply for AI and automotive-grade major clients, resulting in "price changes daily" for channel partners.Driven by factors such as channel inventory replenishment, customers locking in orders in advance, and manufacturers tightening low-price orders, price increases in the first half of 2026 have gradually spread to some high-specification and automotive-grade materials, as well as some ordinary consumer-grade products, creating a broad price increase trend.Taiyo Yuden increased the prices of some consumer and automotive-grade MLCCs by approximately 6%–13% in April; after June, the prices of some mainstream X5R consumer MLCCs in the Chinese market rose by about 15%–25%.

• Since July 2026, passive components have seen a third round of price increases.Starting in July 2026, Murata has increased prices by 10% to 40% for AI and automotive-grade products; Guojue raised its entire range of prices by approximately 50% on July 1, 2026; Samsung Motor sent a notice to customers in July, stating that the shipping price for MLCC products would be uniformly increased by 30% starting from August 1; Sunsei sent a notice about MLCC price adjustments to customers on July 23, announcing price changes for certain products starting from September 1.

• At the same time, since the second half of the year, the market has gradually shown two distinct trends:On one hand, ordinary consumer-grade MLCCs for traditional terminals such as mobile phones, PCs, and home appliances, after experiencing rapid increases in the early stage, will gradually return to a more rational price level due to channel inventory replenishment, normal customer procurement rhythms, and renewed supply competition. The prices will mainly stabilize at high levels or experience minor fluctuations; on the other hand,High-capacity, small-size, low-voltage, high-temperature performance, and highly reliable MLCCs for AI servers, automotive applications, and industrial uses are still expected to experience shortages and price increases.Order and delivery data have reflected this differentiation: as of the end of June 2026, the order-to-delivery ratios of Murata, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Taiyo Yuden were approximately 1.30, 1.31, and 1.25 respectively, significantly higher than the industry average of about 1.04;The delivery times for some high-end X6S products have also increased from about 8 weeks to a maximum of about 20 weeks. Currently, some domestic manufacturers' orders for high-end AI specifications have been scheduled for the second quarter of 2027.Consequently, downstream procurement strategies have changed. In the past, orders were placed 1-2 months in advance, but now, 3-6 months in advanceis often used to lock in production capacity.This indicates that the previous price increases for ordinary consumer-grade products mainly reflect price recovery and inventory replenishment, while the rises in high-end MLCCs are driven by actual supply-demand gaps. AI servers continue to increase power density and power management complexity, leading to rapid growth in demand for high capacitance, high stack layers, and similar product types. At the same time, due to material systems, stacking processes, yield improvement, and customer certification, effective supply cannot expand rapidly in the short term, and Japanese and Korean manufacturers will prioritize allocating limited production capacity to high-value-added customers such as servers, automobiles, and industrial applications.

• Therefore, the key characteristics of the MLCC market in the second half of 2026 will be: ordinary consumer-grade products will return to a rational price level after the rapid increase in the first half of the year, while high-end AI servers and automotive high-end MLCCs will continue to experience shortages and price increases due to tight supply-demand balance.

(2) 2027: It is more likely to be "stabilization at high levels + structural price increases," rather than continuous significant general increases

• In the first half of 2027, the prices of high-end MLCCs are expected to remain resilient, and some scarce product types may continue to rise. On the demand side, AI server platform updates and continuous deployment by cloud service providers will continue to increase the unit value of high-specification MLCCs. For example, the GB200 board requires approximately 6,500 MLCCs, and the Rubin platform is expected to increase this to approximately 12,000 MLCCs, with high-capacity, small-size, low-voltage, and high-temperature product types still benefiting. On the supply side, although Japanese and Korean manufacturers have started production expansion, the new capacity still needs to go through equipment installation, yield improvement, and customer certification, so it will not fully convert into effective supply in the short term,Therefore, the tight supply-demand balance for high-end products is expected to continue.

• After the second half of 2027, the market is more likely to shift from continuous price increases driven by shortages to structural differentiation under stable prices. On one hand, if actual AI server shipments and the value per MLCC per unit continue to increase, high-end high-capacity MLCCs will still maintain stronger price resilience compared to ordinary consumer-grade products; on the other hand, as the previous production expansion by Japanese and Korean leaders is gradually released and Taiwanese and Chinese manufacturers continue to penetrate mid-to-high-end product types, the supply shortage for some high-end specifications is expected to ease marginally, and the price increase rate will slow down. Meanwhile, ordinary consumer-grade MLCCs, after the rapid increase in the first half of 2026, will still face inventory digestion and production capacity competition if traditional terminal demand does not recover as expected, and prices will depend more on terminal demand and channel inventory changes.

• Overall, the baseline scenario for 2027 is not a continuous general increase across the industry, but rather high-end high-capacity MLCCs will maintain relatively high prices and strong bargaining power, while ordinary consumer-grade MLCC prices will stabilize or return to their fundamental levels, and the differentiation in industry product structure, customer structure, and manufacturer technical capabilities will further increase.

(3) Several core variables determining the duration of price increases

• MLCC usage per AI server board: determines the slope of high-end demand growth

The demand for MLCCs from AI servers is not just due to increased server shipments; more importantly, the number of high-specification MLCCs used per device and their value increase simultaneously. According to TrendForce data, the NVIDIA GB200 board uses approximately 6,500 MLCCs, and the next-generation Rubin platform will use about 12,000 MLCCs, an increase of approximately 85%; during the verification process for AMD MI450, the number of MLCCs per board for some 47μF, 2.5V, X6S, 0402 specifications increased from 1,440 to 10,544 pieces, a increase of 632%.

This change indicates that AI server upgrades involve not only adding general electronic components but also, due to increased power density of GPUs, ASICs, HBM, and high-speed network modules, and greater current transient changes, the power distribution network requires more high-capacity, low-ESR, low-voltage, and high-temperature performance MLCCs to achieve more stable decoupling, filtering, and transient response. Since the new demand is concentrated in a few high-specification product types, it actually results in a sharp increase in demand for specific product combinations, rather than an average increase for all MLCCs. As the single-board MLCC usage on the new AI platform continues to increase, even if server shipment growth slows, the unit value of high-end MLCCs can still increase, continuously occupying the original manufacturers' high-end production capacity; conversely, if the platform design becomes more mature, the growth in usage per unit slows, or server deployment pace is lower than expected, the supply-demand tension will ease quickly.

• Japanese and Korean manufacturers' speed of releasing high-end capacity and the progress of domestic substitution: determine whether the supply gap can be filled

The supply constraints for high-end MLCCs do not necessarily mean insufficient total industry capacity, but rather that the effective production capacity to steadily produce high-capacity, small-size, high-stack layers, and high-reliability products is limited. Currently, Japanese and Korean manufacturers such as Murata (Japan's Murata), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (South Korea's Samsung Electro-Mechanics), and Taiyo Yuden (Japan's Taiyo Yuden) remain the main suppliers of high-end MLCCs. Their new capacity still needs to go through equipment installation, process improvement, yield enhancement, and customer certification, so it will not quickly convert into effective supply for AI servers and automotive customers in the short term.

At the same time, domestic substitution will become an important factor affecting the duration of this price increase. Manufacturers in Mainland China already have strong supply capabilities in general consumer-grade and some mid-range MLCC areas, enabling them to quickly alleviate the shortage of general specifications. Therefore, general consumer-grade products are more likely to return to a reasonable level after the initial price increase. However, in terms of high capacitance, small size, ultra-thin stacked structures, high-temperature characteristics, and high-reliability materials, there are still gaps between domestic manufacturers and leading Japanese and Korean companies in product performance, yield stability, and customer certification timelines. In particular, AI servers and automotive customers usually do not easily switch suppliers due to short-term shortages. Even if domestic manufacturers have the product capabilities, they still need to go through a longer verification and integration process.

Thus, in the short term, domestic substitution is more likely to intensify price competition for general and mid-range MLCCs rather than immediately eliminating the supply-demand gap for high-end MLCCs. However, if domestic manufacturers make breakthroughs in yield, reliability, and customer certification for high-specification materials, it will significantly accelerate the release of high-end supply and become a key factor in narrowing the price increase for high-end MLCCs after 2027.

• Speed of AI server platform iteration

Demand for AI servers does not grow uniformly but is highly dependent on generational changes in GPU, ASIC, and server architecture. Each platform iteration, such as from GB200 to Rubin, may lead to a stepwise increase in MLCC usage per unit and the proportion of high-specification materials due to increased computing density, complex power supply architectures, and higher board integration levels. In addition to NVIDIA, AMD and cloud service providers such as Google, AWS, and Meta's self-developed ASICs will also create new demand sources. If multiple platforms increase production simultaneously during the same period, original manufacturers will face greater pressure to allocate high-end capacity.

Therefore, the speed of platform iteration determines not only the scale of MLCC demand but also whether demand growth occurs in a concentrated manner. If Rubin and subsequent platforms increase production as expected, and CSP's self-developed ASICs continue to be deployed, demand for high-end MLCCs will continue to exceed the original supply plan, supporting shortages and continued price increases. Conversely, if the introduction of new platforms is delayed, AI capital expenditure decreases, or other critical components such as chips, HBM, CPU, and power modules become bottlenecks in server delivery, MLCC demand will delay, and the price increase cycle will shorten.

• Demand for Consumer Electronics and Automotive Electronics

Phones, PCs, tablets, and home appliances remain the largest application base for MLCCs. Demand for consumer electronics determines the overall industry utilization rate and the price floor for general specifications. In the first half of 2026, general consumer-grade MLCCs experienced rapid increases driven by original manufacturers' price adjustments, channel inventory replenishment, and market sentiment. However, in the second half of the year, if terminal demand such as phones and PCs remains weak, after channels complete inventory replenishment, general specifications will face inventory digestion and capacity competition again, and prices will tend to be reasonable. Conversely, if consumer electronics demand shows a significant recovery in 2027, it will directly absorb general capacity, improve the utilization rate of original manufacturers, and reduce the motivation for original manufacturers to offer discounts to low-end customers, thus providing stronger price support for the entire MLCC market.

Automotive electronics has a different role from consumer electronics: its demand growth may not be a direct catalyst for rapid short-term price increases. However, automotive MLCC certification cycles are long, lifecycles are extensive, and supply chain stability requirements are high, continuously occupying mid-to-high-end capacity and raising the industry price level. If new energy vehicles, advanced driver assistance systems, and intelligent cabins continue to increase the electronic complexity per vehicle, demand for high-reliability automotive MLCCs will compete with AI server demand for the high-end capacity of Japanese and Korean manufacturers, further strengthening supply constraints for high-end products.

Q: AI servers are increasing MLCC usage. What is the impact of this on overall demand? After high-end MLCC capacity is directed towards AI servers, how much pressure will it put on traditional markets such as consumer electronics and automotive electronics?

Lu Jing

Partner and Managing Director, Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan China

(1) AI servers are currently not the largest downstream market for MLCCs, but they have become one of the most important structural growth areas, and their impact on high-end MLCC demand is significantly higher than that of traditional servers

• The impact of AI servers on MLCC demand mainly comes from two aspects: increased usage per unit and product specification upgrades. Compared with traditional general servers, AI servers are equipped with more GPUs, ASICs, and high-power power management modules, resulting in significantly increased overall power consumption and transient current, thereby increasing the MLCC requirements for decoupling, filtering, voltage stabilization, and energy storage.AI server MLCC usage is approximately 8–13 times that of traditional general servers(For example, according to Samsung Electro-Mechanics' official data, a general server uses about 2,200 MLCCs per unit, while an AI server uses approximately 28,000 MLCCs per unit). As GPUs and ASICs continue to evolve toward higher computing power and higher power consumption, MLCC demand also shows a trend of upgrading from quantity to high capacity, miniaturization, and high reliability.

• Leading manufacturers are continuously expanding their high-capacity MLCC products for AI servers:In September 2026, the global leader Murtaka announced the suspension of production of some consumer-grade and automotive conventional models, prioritizing capacity allocation to high-value-added AI high-end products. Additionally, the company announced a planned additional investment of 80 billion yen for MLCC expansionFrost & Sullivan, Frost & Sullivan China, LeadLeo, LeadLeo Research Institute, LeadLeo, YUAN CAPITAL, SULLIVAN TELE-TREND CLOUD TECHNOLOGY, TradeGo, MagnaTEC, Automotive & Mobility, Environmental Protection & Energy Saving Technology, Logistics & Supply Chain, MATERNAL AND INFANT, Education & Training, Real Estate & Property, Catering & New Retailing, Advanced Materials, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Semiconductor & Chip, COMMERCIAL AVIATION, Technology, Media and Telecom, LANDSCAPING, Big Data & AI, Infrastructure Construction & Utilities, Culture & Entertainment, AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND FISHERY, Food & Beverage, Fintech, SHIPPING AND PORTS, Dual Carbon & New Energy, Mining & Metals, Public Sector, Cross-Border E-commerce Trade, Building Technology, Construction & Decoration, Beauty & Fashion, Smart Homes, Digital Infrastructure, Enterprise Services, Consumer Electronics, focusing on the AI server sector, aiming to increase production capacity by approximately 20% by fiscal year 2027, and the first phase of new production capacity is expected to begin operation in the fourth quarter of 2027.Samsung Electro-Mechanics signed a long-term supply contract for AI server MLCC worth trillions of yen in September.

• In terms of demand growth, AI servers have become one of the fastest-growing downstream applications for MLCCs.According to public information, in 2026, the demand for AI server MLCC is approximately 72.6 billion pieces, representing a 87% increase compared to previous years. By 2027, the demand is expected to reach around 136.7 billion pieces, showing an additional 88% growth.Although AI servers have not yet replaced traditional markets such as mobile phones, PCs, and automobiles in terms of overall MLCC shipments, they have become an important growth direction for high-end MLCC demand and new production capacity allocation.

(2) The impact on consumer electronics and automotive electronics is not entirely the same

Consumer Electronics: The pressure is relatively evident

• Traditional consumer electronics such as mobile phones and PCs have not seen comparable demand growth for AI servers. Therefore, the recent shortage of consumer-grade MLCC supply is mainly due to reallocation of production capacity from the supply side, rather than a significant expansion in end-demand. Since some mid-to-high capacity consumer X5R products compete with high-end products in terms of production equipment and manufacturing resources, after Korean and Japanese manufacturers increased their production capacity for AI-related products, the effective supply flexibility of consumer-grade MLCC decreased, and some orders were shifted to manufacturers in Taiwan and mainland China.

• Price changes further indicate that capacity allocation adjustments have been transmitted from high-end products to consumer markets. In August 2026, TrendForce predicted that Samsung Electro-Mechanics' consumer X5R products for OEM and ODM customers in the fourth quarter would see an average price increase of about 25%–30%, while the high-end X6S products used in AI servers were expected to see a price increase of about 10%–20%. One of the main reasons for raising prices for consumer specifications is to control related order demands and release capacity for expanding high-end product lines. Thus, the impact on the consumer electronics market mainly manifests as a reduction in supply for some mid-to-high capacity products, lower inventory levels, and higher prices, rather than a general shortage of all consumer-grade MLCCs.

Automotive Electronics: The short-term impact is relatively limited, but high-end automotive MLCCs also face competition in capacity and supply resources

• Automotive MLCCs have high technical and certification requirements. They need to operate stably for long periods in complex environments such as high temperature, low temperature, high humidity, and vibration, and must pass AEC-Q200 and customer verification. Samsung Electro-Mechanics revealed that the development cycle for automotive MLCCs is about three times longer than that of ordinary products, and their prices are more than three times higher. Therefore, automotive products that have passed customer certification and established stable supply relationships have relatively rigid capacity allocations, and will not shift quickly and大规模 due to increased AI demand like ordinary consumer products.

• However, both AI servers and automotive electronics are important growth markets for high-end MLCCs. There is still some competition in high-capacity, high-reliability products, as well as advanced equipment, materials, and manufacturing resources. According to TrendForce data, given the market's expectation of tight supply in the second half of 2026, some automotive ODMs have delayed the planned MLCC procurement scheduled for July to May, indicating that the automotive industry chain has also started increasing inventory levels to cope with potential supply pressures. At the same time, the continuous improvement of new energy vehicles, ADAS, and automotive electronics levels is also increasing the demand for high-performance MLCCs. Therefore, the impact on the automotive market from AI servers is relatively weaker than that on consumer electronics. However, since the demand for AI servers and automotive electronics is growing simultaneously, it will jointly increase the capacity utilization rate of high-end MLCCs and strengthen the supply-demand tension for high-spec products.

Q: What is the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers such as Fenghua High-tech and Sanhuan Group in high-end MLCCs and MLCCs for servers? If we refer to Changxin Storage's path of domestic substitution, does the MLCC industry have similar industrial conditions? Where is the real gap?

Lu Jing

Partner and Managing Director, Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan China

(1) Domestic manufacturers have moved from "low-end substitution" to "mid-to-high-end breakthrough," but there is still a significant gap compared to leading Japanese and Korean companies

• AI computing infrastructure is being built at an accelerated pace, simultaneously increasing the usage and performance requirements for MLCCs. AI servers require multiple high-power GPUs, with a single module using hundreds of MLCCs. For example, the MLCC usage in Nvidia's 8-GPU Hopper HGX server is about 7–8 times that of traditional servers, and the usage increase for the GB200 NVL72 rack solution can be more than 100 times. At the same time, system power consumption and integration continue to increase, putting higher demands on the capacity density, high-temperature resistance, and high reliability of MLCCs. This drives products to upgrade towards higher capacity, smaller size, and higher reliability, creating new opportunities for domestic manufacturers with relevant technologies and mass production capabilities to break through to mid-to-high-end markets from general products.

Sanhuan Group:

• Sanhuan's advantages come more from its long-term accumulated material technology, ceramic forming and sintering processes, as well as large-scale manufacturing capabilities. The company's MLCCs have achieved01005 to 2220(Imperial) Full range of packaging mass production, coveringminiature, high-capacity, high-reliability, high-voltage, and high-frequency series. In 2023, Sanhuan's stacking breakthrough1,000 layersDaguan has entered the world's top tier;By 2025, the dielectric layer will be further reduced from approximately 5μm to less than 1μm (1 micron, equivalent to four tens of the diameter of a hair strand), and mass production will be achieved successfully.This indicates that its ability to produce thin layers and high stacking capabilities is continuously improving. For high-frequency applications such as optical communication and servers,the company's high-frequency low-resistance MLCC products have reached industry-leading performance levels, and it has deeply integrated into the supply chain of AI servers and high-speed optical modules.

• The company's 2025 annual report clearly states that it has introduced multiple size options of high-capacity MLCCs, as well as high-capacity MLCCs for 48V power systems. The supply capacity of data center products continues to increase; vehicle-grade MLCCs now cover sizes from 0201 to 2220, and from 0.1pF to 47μF, and are gradually being applied in new energy vehicle power supplies and electric drives, having passed certifications from several benchmark clients.

• In terms of production capacity, the two major bases established by Sanhuan inNanchong and Deyangare continuously expanding the production capacity of high-capacity MLCCs.Its production base in Thailandis being developed steadily. After listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in July this year, Sanhuan's raised funds will be used for overseas production capacity expansion, automation upgrades, and material innovation, further strengthening its global supply capacity.

• At the same time, the business that complements MLCC isoptical communication component business. With the increased demand for 800G and 1.6T optical modules, the demand for core components such as ceramic inserts and sleeves is also growing simultaneously. Sanhuan Group is"the world's leading supplier of ceramic inserts and sleeves (with a market share of approximately 70% in 2025)"and possesses significant technical and scale advantages, directly benefiting from the surge in optical interconnection needs brought about by AI computing infrastructure development.

• Furthermore,as one of the few domestic manufacturers that has completed the entire chain from upstream ceramic powder to downstream components, the company has mastered the core technologies of ceramic forming and sintering,eliminating the constraints of imported materials.

Fenghua High-tech:

• Fenghua's advantages lie in its industrial accumulation, large-scale production, and complete product system, and it is currently upgrading to high-end MLCC.In the first half of 2026, the company's high-end MLCC revenue, including high capacitance, automotive-grade, and medium-high voltage products, accounted for approximately 40% of the total MLCC revenue. The company also stated that related AI server products are being gradually certified by customers.

• In terms of products and processes, Fenghua has mastered technologies such as homogenization and dispersion of barium titanate powder below 100nm, superthin film casting, and precision layered manufacturing of more than 1,000 layers. It has also developed a sintering process system for extreme high-capacity MLCCs, and has launched 0805 size, 100μF, 2.5V, X6S products, indicating that its high-end development has progressed from technical reserves to product implementation and commercialization stages.

• Therefore, Fenghua is no longer just a mid-to-low-end domestic replacement enterprise. However, the customer certification and scale expansion of high-end MLCCs for AI servers are still in the ongoing progress stage.

(2) MLCCs have certain conditions similar to those of "Changxin Storage" for domestic replacement, but the industrial logic is not entirely the same.

Advantages

• China has the world's largest downstream demand market.

China is a global important manufacturing base for Consumer Electronics, new energy vehicles, communication equipment, and servers. It has a large number of complete machine manufacturers, automotive companies, server ODMs, power supply manufacturers, and electronic manufacturing service providers, providing rich product validation and customer introduction scenarios for domestic MLCCs. As the importance of supply chain security increases, downstream customers are actively introducing domestic suppliers, creating conditions for domestic MLCCs to penetrate into mid-to-high-end applications such as automotive-grade and servers.

• The upstream industry chain is gradually improving.

MLCC manufacturing involves multiple steps, including dielectric powder, internal electrode slurry, release film, casting, printing, layered manufacturing, sintering, and sealing. In the past, high-end materials and equipment mainly relied on Japanese and Korean companies. Currently, the domestic industry chain has begun to achieve collaborative breakthroughs: Guoci Material's MLCC dielectric powder customers include Samsung Motor, Guju, and Fenghua High-tech, and it is expanding the production capacity of automotive-grade and AI server MLCC powders; Boqian New Material has also established the ability to supply nano- and sub-micron nickel powder. Its 2025 annual report shows that AI servers and automotive electronics are driving the upgrade of MLCC internal electrode materials to smaller particle sizes, higher sphericity, and better dispersion.

This is somewhat similar to Changxin's approach of completing product iteration and large-scale production through collaboration with domestic equipment, materials, and downstream customers. Changxin has gradually expanded from DDR4 and LPDDR4X to DDR5 and LPDDR5/5X, and continues to promote the development and verification of the domestic supply chain, indicating that the追赶 path of "domestic demand - customer validation - large-scale production - industry chain collaboration" is feasible.

• Domestic manufacturers already have a foundation for large-scale manufacturing.

Domestic manufacturers such as Sanhuan, Fenghua, and Weirong did not start from scratch; they have already achieved mass production capabilities for general MLCCs and some high-capacity and automotive-grade products. These companies have a complete iteration foundation from material and process optimization, product development, to customer validation, providing conditions for further breaking through high-end specifications for AI servers.

• The logic of domestic replacement for MLCCs is not entirely the same as that of DRAM.

The technical routes and interface standards for DRAM products are relatively concentrated. Leading manufacturers can transform technological progress into market share quickly through process platform upgrades, capacity expansion, and increased production of standard products. In contrast, MLCC features a large number of part numbers, complex specification combinations, and diverse application scenarios, with different customers having varying requirements for size, capacity, rated voltage, temperature characteristics, DC bias voltage, and reliability. Therefore, MLCC is more likely to be gradually replaced along a path of "single part number breakthrough - customer certification - small-scale supply - expansion of adjacent specifications," making the overall process more fragmented compared to storage chips with higher standardization levels.

(3) Core Gap

• The biggest gap is not simply the presence or absence of equipment, but the comprehensive capabilities of materials, processes, and yield rates.

The main challenges of MLCC areultra-thin dielectric layers, multi-layer stacking, high-precision printing, sintering control, and long-term reliability.Especially as MLCC develops towards smaller sizes and higher capacitance values, the dielectric layer becomes thinner, and the number of layers increases, requiring higher demands for material purity, particle size control, slurry quality, printing accuracy, sintering process, and yield rates.

Therefore, mid-to-low-end MLCC production lines cannot directly upgrade to high-end AI server production lines by simply adding equipment. Domestic manufacturers have already made breakthroughs in reducing the dielectric layer thickness and increasing the number of layers, but further progress toward high yield rates, low failure rates, and stable mass production across batches still requires continuous process development.

• Customer certification for high-end products is the second significant barrier

MLCC used in AI servers and automotive electronics typically needs to operate for long periods under high-temperature, high-load, and frequent current fluctuations conditions, requiring high effective capacity at actual operating voltage, temperature stability, failure rate, and batch consistency. After product development is completed,it must also go through component selection, board-level testing, system validation, and long-term reliability testing, before gradually entering the procurement systems of server ODMs, power supply manufacturers, or end customers.

Thus, the fact that domestic manufacturers have launched high-capacity, automotive-grade, and server products does not mean they have entered the core supply chain and achieved substantial revenue. There is still a significant time gap between product development, certification, small-scale supply, and large-scale production.

• The top-tier products still have a technological gap compared to international leaders

Japanese and Korean leaders can already produce 0402 (small size, using sub-micron dielectric layer <1 μm), 47μF (extremely high capacity), X6S (high-temperature resistance) products, and serve global leading server, automotive, and consumer electronics customers for long periods. In contrast, domestic manufacturers are currently in the stages of breaking through some high-end specifications, obtaining customer certification, and expanding supply scale. There is still room for improvement in combining small size with ultra-high capacity, accumulating long-term reliability data, achieving high production yield rates, and covering global customers. According to a 2026 Financial Times interview with Murata, Murata believes it maintains technological leadership in high-end MLCC, estimating a technical gap of about 10 years with Chinese competitors, and hopes to maintain at least 3‑4 years of technological advantage.

*This interview was published in The Times Weekly. The author is Zhu Chengcheng. The original title is: MLCC "Price Changes Every Hour": High-end Product Capacity Under Competition, Do Domestic Manufacturers Seize the "Changxin Moment"?