[현장에서] Car chips, 200 for internal combustion cars, but 500 for electric cars…

On the 7th, the second meeting was held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Namdaemun-ro, Seoul. In a month after the first meeting on the 4th of last month, not only Hyundai Motor Company, Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Mobis, and DB Hitech, but also domestic small and medium semiconductor design company (fabless) Telechips gathered to discuss countermeasures related to automotive semiconductors. On that day, Hyundai Motor Company’s Ulsan Plant 1, which produces Kona and Ioniq 5, was closed due to a lack of semiconductors for vehicles.

The shortage of automotive semiconductors is hitting the global automaker industry, but it is not a problem that can be solved overnight. Compared to semiconductors used in smartphones and home appliances, automotive semiconductors are less profitable. In addition, since it is used in automobiles with human life, it has to undergo a rigorous test. This is why Germany’s Infineon, Netherlands NXP, and Japan’s Renesas, who were cut off from the competition for semiconductor microprocessing in the 1990s and 2000s, have formed an oligopoly market with their own league.

Infineon, the number one company in this field, was a spin-off from Siemens, Germany, and the entire company was staggered when Qimonda, a subsidiary of memory semiconductors, went bankrupt in 2009. NXP, the second place, was also a spin-off company when Philips gave up semiconductors in 2006. Third place Renesas was founded by Hitachi, who lost in the memory microprocessing process with Samsung Electronics in the 1990s.

These automotive semiconductor companies have made automotive chips with an old process in the range of 50 to 80 nanometers (nm·1 billionth of a meter). Chips that require microprocessing are mainly handled by Taiwanese TSMC, the number one semiconductor consignment production (foundry) company. Samsung and TSMC are competing for technology over 10nm or less microprocessing. Ahn Ki-hyun, executive director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, said, “In fact, there are no companies that make semiconductors for vehicles that are overwhelming in terms of technology. That’s why automotive chips are an area that domestic companies can also dare to challenge,” he explained.

In the short term, the supply and demand for automotive chips is highly likely to be resolved with the increase in production of TSMC in Taiwan. The Ministry of Industry also said, “It is understood that major foundry companies in Taiwan such as TSMC have increased the supply by expanding the production line utilization rate to 102~103%.”

The bigger problems are the challenges that need to be solved in the long run. The most pressing issue is how to procure semiconductors for increasingly electronic vehicles. It is said that 200 semiconductors are required for an internal combustion locomotive, but 400-500 for electric vehicles and 1000-2000 for autonomous vehicles. Recently, Hyundai Mobis said, “We will promote the internalization of semiconductors,” but compared to the trend of electrification in the automobile industry, it is in its infancy.

Unlike Korea, in Japan, Toyota mass-produced semiconductors at the Hirose plant in 1989. From that time on, it started making power semiconductors that change voltage and current appropriately according to the situation, and electronic control units (ECUs) that are said to be lacking in current automakers in each country. Toyota’s own mass-produced semiconductor was used in the hybrid vehicle’Prius’ to improve fuel economy and power efficiency.

The domestic automobile industry should also focus on building a’safe supply chain’ with a long breath to prepare for the era of electrification and autonomous driving. The government should not rush to short-term solutions and actively implement tax incentives such as investment tax credits. After all, it is because companies are the main agents of increasing investment in semiconductors and future cars.

Reporter Kim Young-min