Automotive MLCC 0201 Capacitance: the AEC-Q200 Shelf Stops 220 Times Below Walsin’s Own Ceiling

We measured every row of Walsin’s automotive MLCC export at 0201 and 0402. Automotive MLCC 0201 capacitance stops at 10 nF, and 0402 stops at 680 nF. Walsin’s own non-automotive catalogue reaches 2.2 µF at 0201 and 22 µF at 0402 — 220 times higher at both case sizes.

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Venatech Limited, an authorised Walsin distributor in Hong Kong, is an authorised distributor for Walsin Technology (Walsin). We measured this from four files: 01_Automotive_MT.xlsx (2,176 rows), 02_Automotive_MG.xlsx (788 rows), 04_Automotive_SoftTerm_ST.xlsx (118 rows), and 00_ALL_MLCC_parts_combined.xlsx (24,026 rows) for the catalogue-wide comparison. We opened and parsed all four. Every part number below is real, and every capacitance figure was converted to farads and compared directly, not read off a datasheet table by eye.

What is the capacitance ceiling for automotive MLCC at 0201?

10 nanofarads, and it is the same number whether the part is AEC-Q200 qualified or not. We filtered 01_Automotive_MT.xlsx and 02_Automotive_MG.xlsx to case size 0201 and took the maximum capacitance in each: MT’s 0201 ceiling is 10 nF (MT03B103K100, X7R), and MG’s 0201 ceiling is also 10 nF (MG03B103K100, X7R), identical to three significant figures. Neither series offers X5R at 0201 — X5R is where MG’s larger capacitance advantage shows up at 0402, and it is simply absent at the smaller case size. ST has zero rows at 0201 at all; the soft-termination polymer layer does not reach that case size in either our stock data or Walsin’s export.

Series	0201 rows	0201 capacitance ceiling	Dielectric at ceiling
MT (AEC-Q200 qualified)	204	10 nF	X7R
MG (without AEC-Q200)	36	10 nF	X7R
ST (AEC-Q200, soft term)	0	—	—

What is the capacitance ceiling for automotive MLCC at 0402?

680 nanofarads, and this time qualification status changes the answer by a factor of 6.8. MT’s 0402 ceiling is 100 nF (MT15B104K160, X7R); MG’s 0402 ceiling is 680 nF (MG15X684K100, X5R); ST has one 0402 part at all, ST15B104K160, at 100 nF. So the AEC-Q200-qualified shelf at 0402 — MT plus ST — stops at 100 nF. The combined automotive shelf, qualified and unqualified together, stops at 680 nF, and the extra 580 nF exists only because MG carries 11 X5R part numbers that MT has no counterpart for.

Series	0402 rows	0402 capacitance ceiling	Dielectric at ceiling
MT (AEC-Q200 qualified)	485	100 nF	X7R
MG (without AEC-Q200)	199	680 nF	X5R
ST (AEC-Q200, soft term)	1	100 nF	X7R

How much higher does Walsin’s overall catalogue go at the same two case sizes?

220 times higher, at both 0201 and 0402, measured against the AEC-Q200-qualified ceiling. We filtered the full 00_ALL_MLCC_parts_combined.xlsx export, 24,026 rows across all 16 series, to the same two case sizes: the catalogue-wide 0201 ceiling is 2.2 µF (0201X225M100, General Purpose, X5R) and the catalogue-wide 0402 ceiling is 22 µF (0402X226M6R3, General Purpose, X5R). Divide each by the automotive AEC-Q200 ceiling at the same case size — 10 nF at 0201, 100 nF at 0402 — and both come out to exactly 220. We have not seen this specific ratio, matching at both case sizes, counted anywhere. It is General Purpose X5R doing the work in both cases; the automotive series do not carry that dielectric at either case size at all.

Case size	Automotive AEC-Q200 ceiling (MT/ST)	Catalogue-wide ceiling (General Purpose)	Ratio
0201	10 nF (MT03B103K100)	2.2 µF (0201X225M100)	220×
0402	100 nF (MT15B104K160)	22 µF (0402X226M6R3)	220×

Does the AEC-Q200 claim itself cost capacitance, separately from the automotive label?

At 0402, yes — at 0201, no. Comparing MT against MG in isolation, holding “automotive” constant and varying only the AEC-Q200 claim, shows the cost of qualification is not a fixed tax. At 0201, qualified and unqualified automotive parts tie at the same 10 nF ceiling, because neither carries X5R there. At 0402, the unqualified MG series beats the qualified MT series by 6.8 times, because MG’s X5R parts exist and MT’s do not. The cost of AEC-Q200 at 0402 is not inherent to the standard — it is that Walsin has not published an AEC-Q200-qualified X5R 0402 part, qualified or not.

Part number	Series	Case size	Dielectric	Capacitance	Mechanical tolerance	Match / mismatch vs automotive 0402 ceiling (680 nF)
MT15B104K160	MT, AEC-Q200	0402	X7R	100 nF	±0.05 mm	Mismatch — 6.8× below the automotive ceiling; the AEC-Q200-qualified limit
MG15X684K100	MG, no AEC-Q200	0402	X5R	680 nF	±0.05 mm	Match — the automotive ceiling itself; not AEC-Q200 qualified
0402X226M6R3	General Purpose, not automotive	0402	X5R	22 µF	±0.20 mm	Mismatch — 32× above the automotive ceiling; wider mechanical tolerance; not an automotive series at all

Which automotive series reach 0201 and 0402 at all?

Two reach 0201, three reach 0402, and one reaches neither. We counted rows across all four files we hold: MT and MG both carry 0201 parts (204 and 36 rows); MT, MG and ST all carry 0402 parts (485, 199 and 1 row); and VT — 03_Automotive_SoftTerm_VT.xlsx — carries zero part numbers at any case size, because it is a 2-row stub stating “Parts listed on Walsin product search: 0.” VT has a full AEC-Q200-and-VW80808 approval sheet and no orderable part number in our data at all, so it cannot be compared at any case size, 0201 or otherwise.

What should a buyer do when the design target sits above the automotive ceiling?

Three things, roughly in the order a design review would raise them. If the target is 680 nF or below at 0402, or 10 nF or below at 0201, the automotive shelf — qualified or not — already covers it, and the only remaining decision is whether AEC-Q200 is a hard requirement on that line. If the target is above either ceiling, no automotive-labelled Walsin part at that case size covers it today, and the honest options are a larger case size, a different automotive series check with Walsin directly, or confirming whether the application genuinely needs AEC-Q200 at all.

1. Check the ceiling before the case size is fixed in the schematic. 10 nF at 0201 and 680 nF at 0402 are the real limits of what we can quote on the automotive shelf today, not a published target that might still be in progress.
2. If AEC-Q200 is required and the value exceeds 100 nF at 0402, there is no qualified 0402 part for it — the 680 nF ceiling at that case size belongs to MG, which is explicitly unqualified. Moving up a case size, to 0603 or 0805, is the usual next step inside the MT series.
3. Cross the rest of the BOM in one pass. Paste up to 500 part numbers, or drop your Excel or CSV, into the free cross-reference tool, filter to automotive grade, and check ready stock before committing a production slot — a dated snapshot as at 23 September 2026, and automotive MLCC does not currently sit on it.

For the full MT-versus-MG comparison, including the 656 unreadable MG tolerance cells, see automotive MLCC without AEC-Q200: MT vs MG, field by field. For the documents to request once a series is chosen, see the AEC-Q200 qualification report: 1 of 3 documents a German Tier 1 will ask for. The full range sits on the Walsin MLCC products page.

The short version

Automotive MLCC 0201 capacitance stops at 10 nF on both the AEC-Q200-qualified and unqualified automotive shelves. At 0402 the two shelves split: 100 nF where AEC-Q200 is required, 680 nF where it is not, because the unqualified MG series carries an X5R dielectric the qualified MT series does not. Walsin’s own non-automotive catalogue reaches 220 times higher at both case sizes — 2.2 µF at 0201, 22 µF at 0402 — entirely in General Purpose X5R. The VT automotive series has an approval sheet and zero orderable part numbers in our data, so it cannot be measured at any case size. We have not seen the 220-times figure, matching at both 0201 and 0402, counted anywhere else.

Tell us the case size and the capacitance you need, and whether AEC-Q200 is a hard requirement. We will tell you honestly whether the automotive shelf covers it today, or whether the figure you want only exists outside the automotive label.

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Frequently asked questions

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