NEC has partnered with German Asic company Elmos Semiconductor in engineering and marketing to address the automotive and industrial markets.

The aim is to integrate NEC's 8- to 32-bit microcontrollers with application-specific analogue/mixed-signal chips from Elmos.

"Combining the core competences and related technologies from both companies will enable us to enhance our market position - a gain for both companies", says Shinichi Iwamoto, Vice President of NEC Electronics, responsible for microcomputer operations unit.

"First concepts address smart microcontrollers with enhanced functionality, intelligent system base chips including communication transceivers, and smart power devices with secure operation," said Iwamoto.

The hope is that coordinated joint products will "unveil so far untapped revenues".

In the past Elmos has partnered with Freescale and MagnaChip to address the automotive market.