When the situation became like this, on the 22nd, the Korea Automobile Industry Association held an emergency meeting with officials from the automobile industry and semiconductor industry to seek a solution.
According to the industry, Korean automakers such as Hyundai and Kia Motors have secured inventory for the moment, so there is no problem with the operation of the factory right away. However, if the supply-demand disruption is prolonged, it can turn into a’shutdown’ situation, where the factory door is closed. This is because automotive semiconductors consumed by domestic automakers are highly dependent on foreign countries, and domestic companies that produce them are rare.
Domestic foundry (consigned production) companies such as Samsung Electronics are not focusing on producing semiconductors for vehicles, and domestic fabless (design specializing) companies are also concentrating their capabilities in other fields. The industry estimates that even if fabless companies take orders now, actual production will take at least six months.
The shortage of semiconductors for vehicles is the aftermath of global semiconductor companies delaying production of semiconductors for vehicles due to the Corona 19 incident, as they preferentially produce semiconductors for home appliances and information technology (IT) products.
For this reason, global automakers such as Volkswagen of Germany, Toyota of Japan and Ford of the United States have already started cutting production due to lack of semiconductors.
Currently, the automotive semiconductor market is in the form of consignment production to Samsung Electronics and Taiwan TSMC by fabless companies such as the US, Germany, and Japan. Major fabless companies include NXP in the Netherlands, Renesas in Japan, Infineon in Germany, and Texas Instruments in the US.
Research Fellow Lee Hang-gu said, “This situation has occurred in a situation where Korea is developing technology in automotive semiconductors,” he said. “The US, German and Japanese companies receive supplies from domestic companies, but domestic automakers do not.”
In particular, as the eco-friendliness and electrification of automobiles has accelerated, the demand for vehicle semiconductors such as power semiconductors is increasing. In preparation for this, the Korean government has also started to foster the system semiconductor industry in this field from 2019. However, Japan has already started investing in 2014 and is already being evaluated as a world-class automotive semiconductor technology.
Samsung Electronics is a latecomer in this field, and its market share is insignificant. In addition, even if it produces semiconductors for vehicles right away, it is a burden to select Samsung Electronics products for automakers. Among automobile parts, semiconductors cannot be easily replaced with new products because they are directly connected to driving safety. Researcher Lee said, “Hyundai Motors has no choice but to use German Infineon products whose stability has already been verified.”
It is known that Hyundai Motor Company and Kia are securing automotive semiconductor inventory for 1 to 2 months. Although it is not at a level that is a problem for vehicle production at the moment, the supply and demand situation is being watched closely in preparation for the prolonged shortage of semiconductors.
GM Korea is also in normal operation now, but it is reported that GM headquarters is making efforts to secure supply lines from various angles, such as contacting Taiwan at the level of the GM headquarters in fear of prolonged situation.
UPI News / Reporter Kim Hye-ran [email protected]
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