Auto & Transportation

On October 18, according to the Taiwan Electronic Times, citing industry sources, many chip manufacturers have set up MCU expansion targets to meet downstream demand growth.

Among them, Renesas Electronics plans to increase the output of automotive MCUs by 50% by the end of 2030; Infineon has announced that it will increase expenditures by 50% next year, which is an investment of 2.4 billion euros (about 2.8 billion US dollars) for expansion; The foundry leader TSMC also said before that it plans to increase the output of automotive MCUs by 60% this year.

In addition to the active expansion of production by manufacturers, the objective environment has also turned for the better. On the 10th, Malaysia, a major producer of automotive chips, announced that it had lifted the ban on interstate travel, and local semiconductor production capacity has gradually started to climb. According to a survey conducted by Morgan Stanley on Malaysian fab equipment vendors, the average capacity utilization rate reached 89% at the end of September, while it was only 51% at the end of August.

Driven by two major factors, the shackles of automotive chips are gradually unraveling. According to a report by the Financial Associated Press today, industry insiders revealed that since September, the price of automotive chips has declined significantly, and chip brokers have begun to sell them. Automotive chips "completely out of stock has turned into partial out of stock, it can be said that the shortage of more than a year is about to become a thing of the past."

However, the China Automobile Association recently mentioned that there is a certain guarantee for the purchase of Q4 chips, but the supply is still in short supply. TSMC also stated at the law conference that the current shortage of automotive chips has been eased, and it will still take several quarters for the transmission to the OEM factory.

The main engine factory has gradually resumed production

The “four modernizations” trend of the automobile industry has led to the reshaping of the product value chain-internal combustion engine-related systems and components continue to shrink, while the introduction of three electric (battery, electric drive, and electronic control) has rapidly increased the silicon content of automobiles. The proportion of total vehicle cost can reach 50%, and the total value of semiconductors of pure electric vehicles is expected to increase by more than 70% compared with traditional vehicles.

Previously, due to the continued tightness of car chips, Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW and other car companies have expressed pessimism about the production and sales prospects in the coming months and even years. In addition, the lack of core has also led to GM, Volkswagen, Nissan, Tesla and others have announced that they will reduce the production of certain models in the next few years.

Looking at the domestic market, Great Wall Motor and Changan Automobile have both chosen to extend the delivery time due to the lack of cores. Among the "new forces in car-making", Ideal is the one that is most affected. On the 8th, the company released the "Ideal ONE Delivery Plan Communication", stating that due to the lack of cores, the model will be equipped with 2 less radars and will be reinstalled before the Spring Festival; 9 The monthly delivery volume was 7,094 vehicles, a decrease of 2408% from the previous month. The official explained that due to the Malaysian epidemic, the production of chips for millimeter-wave radar suppliers was "seriously hindered."

Nowadays, the shortage of cores is gradually alleviating. The above-mentioned report from the Financial Association pointed out that some domestic OEMs have resumed suspended second or even third shift production. However, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Travel Federation, believes that it is still difficult to completely alleviate the short-term supply chain shortage. It is expected that the core shortage will be completely relieved after the peak sales of the Spring Festival next year.