The shortage of automobile chips that broke out in 2020 has not been effectively alleviated this year. Recently, Infineon CEO, the relevant person in charge of Arm automobile department and the relevant people in the supply chain all said that the shortage of automobile chips will continue until 2023.
As for Arm, Dennis Laudick, vice president of its automotive go-to-market strategy, recently said that modern cars need more chips, and these chips are more expensive than ever. Due to strong demand, it is expected that there will be a serious shortage of auto-related chips this year.
Arm said that since 2020, Arm’s auto business revenue has more than doubled, and its total revenue increased by 35% to 2.7 billion pounds in the past 2022. At present, the market supports electric vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems; Automotive electronics with functions such as ADAS and in-car entertainment are growing faster than other departments such as smart phones and data centers.
In addition, Hamback, CEO of Infineon, recently said that countries are increasing semiconductor investment in their own countries and friendly regions, and that complete self-sufficiency is absolutely impossible. Hamback also expressed the idea of starting large-scale investment, saying that the demand for non-cutting products such as automotive semiconductors and power semiconductors for electrical control continues to exceed the supply.
At the moment when consumer electronics is weak, the rapid growth of the automobile industry largely or partially offsets the decline of other businesses.
According to the latest financial report data released by Texas Instruments, Infineon, Renesas and other automobile chip manufacturers, the company’s automobile business revenue growth has relatively good data, and all major manufacturers believe that the long-term growth trend within the automobile is very significant, which can provide strong structural growth opportunities.
Although the demand is still very strong, the shortage of chips is an indisputable fact. Recently, due to the shortage of chips, Honda, a Japanese automobile manufacturer, announced in December 2022 that a factory in Japan will continue to reduce production in early January 2023, and its output will be reduced by 20%.
In addition, foreign media reports show that a survey conducted by the Distributors Association of Semiconductors & Components in December 2022 shows that there may be a shortage of automotive chips in 2023.
According to Sourcengine, an American chip supplier, as of November 2022, the delivery time of power semiconductors has been extended from 31-51 weeks at the end of May to 39-64 weeks. Some people in the industry said that power semiconductors for controlling current and analog IC for managing power supply will remain in short supply in 2023. Some major automakers also added that the supply of spare parts will not return to normal until 2024. Regarding the shortage of automobile chips, the president of CoreStaff, a semiconductor trading company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, said: “Without a semiconductor or component, automobile production cannot continue, so there is no choice but to leave the remaining components in inventory.”