(Photo provided by Hyundai Motor Company)
It was found that major semiconductor foundry (consignment production) companies in Taiwan such as TSMC increased the production rate of automotive semiconductors, which suffered from supply shortages, by 2-3%. However, it takes more than two months for the production increase at the foundry stage to be reflected in the finished vehicle stage, making it difficult for the supply and demand situation to improve immediately. Accordingly, the government continues to consult with major countries for smooth vehicle semiconductor procurement, and seeks and supports items that can be commercialized for a short period of time among related parts and modules.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the second meeting of the’Future Vehicle-Semiconductor Solidarity and Cooperation Council’ with automobile and semiconductor companies at the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 7th. At this meeting, the Ministry of Industry announced that as a result of the government’s discussions with major countries and companies using public-private cooperation channels, Taiwan is actively working to relieve the supply and demand of automotive semiconductors.
In particular, it was found that major foundry companies in Taiwan such as TSMC are expanding and supplying their production line utilization rate to 102-103% by 2-3% compared to the previous one through self-adjustment of production processes. However, a government official predicted, “It will take more than two months for the production increase at the foundry stage to be reflected to the finished vehicle stage,” and “it cannot immediately contribute to the improvement of the supply and demand situation, but it will partially contribute to the improvement of the situation in the future.”
The Ministry of Industry decided to support the emergency commercialization of related parts and modules in order to enhance the domestic automotive semiconductor industry capacity and promote technological independence. After the development of a domestic semiconductor company was completed, about 10 items were also discovered for performance evaluation with demanding companies (automobile and parts makers).
In the future, the final selection of items through additional demand surveys, project announcements (planned in April-May), and evaluation by the selection and evaluation committee will be given priority by utilizing the mass production performance evaluation support project for materials, parts and equipment (general manager). In addition to the areas where Korean companies already have capabilities, such as APs for infotainment and image sensors, they will discover areas that are in demand for development of finished vehicle companies such as next-generation power semiconductors.
The public-private joint’Mid- to long-term vehicle semiconductor technology development roadmap’ will be initiated this month. The roadmap contains market trends and prospects and technology development directions for each of the four divisions: △Powertrain △Chassis, Safety, Autonomous Driving △Car Body, Convenience △Infotainment.