SiC MOSFET Prices Surge Again in 2026: A Procurement Playbook for OEMs

If SiC MOSFETs are on your BOM, you've likely already noticed the shift in this year's quotes. Industry research now values China's SiC device market at approximately RMB 11.09 billion in 2026, up 32.4% year over year—the fastest growth globally. On the demand side, 800V high-voltage platforms are scaling up, SiC content per PV inverter is rising from 1.2 to 2.1 devices, and energy-storage bidirectional converters are adding volume—demand is outpacing capacity ramp-up. Global leaders Infineon and STMicroelectronics have both issued their second round of price hikes in 2026, with domestic Chinese fabs following suit. This isn't a rumor; it's already reflected in your quotes.

Three forces are driving the price increases.

The first is demand.JPMorgan estimates China's SiC EV shipments (excluding Tesla) could grow from approximately 2.5 million units in 2025 to over 4 million in 2026, an increase of more than 60%. Higher SiC content per vehicle and per inverter is depleting capacity faster than unit sales growth alone would suggest.

The second factor is cost.6-inch SiC substrates averaged RMB 4,000–4,500 per wafer in early 2025, dropped to around RMB 2,000, and have been rebounding since April 2026, while 8-inch products have stabilized. Although falling substrate prices should have led to lower device costs, upstream capacity shifting toward high-performance products combined with rising packaging and testing expenses has driven device prices up across the board.

The third is structurally constrained capacity.Silex has launched a 6-inch SiC MOSFET product line with 10,000-wafer monthly capacity, while CRMICRO's 8-inch SiC line went online at the end of 2025. Domestic capacity is ramping up, but automotive-grade reliability qualification takes time, meaning short-term output cannot keep pace with demand. This is precisely when price hikes and extended lead times occur together.

For procurement teams, take these four actions now.

Lock in pricing now, not later.Price letters arrive in waves; the later you order, the higher your quote. Assess your Q4 2026 to Q1 2027 volume and negotiate quarterly or half-year framework agreements with distributors that hold real inventory and secured allocations. Lock in your cost before the next wave hits.

Second, qualify a secondary source in parallel.Today's top-tier domestic automotive-grade SiC suppliers include BASiC, StarPower, CRMICRO, and SANAN; a second tier includes Silex, SICC (Danisense), and others. Submit samples early, complete reliability qualification, and allow your second source 6–12 months to gain approval. Do not wait until your primary supplier runs out of stock before starting.

Third, prioritize authenticity and traceability over price alone.The tighter the market, the more refurbished and counterfeit parts enter. Require outgoing inspection data for every lot, and when necessary, use third-party labs for external visual inspection, X-ray, and decapsulation analysis to verify packaging, die structure, and marking integrity, maintaining a fully documented traceability chain.

Fourth, fulfill urgent orders from spot stock.For prototypes, small batches, and pilot runs, bypass high costs and long lead times by using spot-channel suppliers with in-stock inventory, same-day shipping, and in-house testing. For volume needs, upload a complete BOM and receive side-by-side quotes from multiple sources within minutes.

Of these four steps, locking the price is most urgent, qualifying a second source takes the longest, and verifying authenticity is non-negotiable. Schedule these three now—by the time the next round of pricing letters arrives, your cost advantage will already be locked into the contract.