An average of 200 to 300 semiconductors fits in a car. I’d like to use this a lot for things, but when you park, you need a sensor that detects obstacles, when you check the pressure of your tires, when the airbags work, and when you do this, semiconductors are indispensable. This is a general car story, and there are two to three times more semiconductors in electric vehicles. In particular, it is said that more than 2,000 semiconductors are contained in a single self-driving vehicle currently under development. However, at present, Korea relies on imports for almost all of the semiconductors for vehicles.
Reporter Lee Seong-hoon pointed out why Korea, which is said to be a semiconductor powerhouse, lacks automotive semiconductors.
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Toyota, Honda, Ford, and Volkswagen.
It is estimated that this year, the global automotive industry will suffer a loss of $61 billion, or about 69 trillion won, due to production disruptions caused by a shortage of automotive semiconductors.
Semiconductor powerhouses such as Korea, the United States, and Japan are also helpless because automotive semiconductors have a high risk of recalls even though their profitability is low, and entry barriers are high.
[김주홍/한국자동차산업협회 상무 : 다품종 소량생산을 하다 보니까 수익성이 떨어지고 안전성, 신뢰성 구축 이런 부분들이 좀 까다롭다 보니까 국산화가 쉽지는 않았던 것입니다.]
The problem is that the supply-demand shortage of semiconductors is causing a’domino blow’ to not only automakers but also all related industries such as steel, parts, and electrical equipment.
When we surveyed domestic auto parts makers, nearly 50% said they were being nourished by the disruption in the supply and demand of semiconductors for vehicles.
Of these, 36% of parts production fell to less than ten thousand times.
[오원석/자동차부품산업진흥재단 이사장 : 반도체를 직접 안 쓰는 부품회사들도 자동차 회사들이 생산을 줄인다거나 그렇게 되면 매출 감소가 예상이 되죠.]
As the proportion of electric vehicles and self-driving vehicles increases, the automotive semiconductor market is expected to grow to USD 45.1 billion in 2023.
[이항구/한국자동차연구원 연구위원 : 갈수록 반도체의 수요는 점차 증가하기 때문에 차량용 반도체를 국내에서 생산해서 공급할 수 있는 공급망 구축도 지금 필요한 시점입니다.]
In the information and communications industry, concerns over the semiconductor crisis have sparked, and the US, China, and the EU are competing for semiconductor supremacy.
The government and industry are in an urgent need to reorganize their industrial strategies in order not to lose their leadership in the semiconductor market supply chain.
(Video editing: Hongmyeong Lee, VJ: Mingu Jung)
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