Toyota Motor 2020 warned on August 6, 2020 that net profit fell by 64% due to the CCP virus pandemic affecting the global automotive market, and announced a drop in quarterly results.
In the second half of 2020, the global demand for automotive chips (wafers) has rebounded due to an oversupply of automotive chips, leading to a reduction in production, and the U.S., Germany and Japan have successively turned to Taiwan for help, expecting TSMC and other industry players to increase production. However, in the long run, countries hope to establish their own semiconductor national team, TSMC has also become a popular chicken invited by countries.
Semiconductor shortage: Car manufacturers have difficulty in cooking without rice
The Central News Agency reported that, affected by the Epidemic, car makers reduced production in the first half of 2020, and semiconductor foundries received fewer orders for automotive wafers and instead produced chips for computers, smartphones and other products.
In the second half of 2020, China, North America market demand for cars back, but is facing an oversupply of automotive chips, the German auto maker Volkswagen (Volkswagen), the United States Ford (Ford), Japan Toyota (Toyota), Nissan (Nissan), Honda (Honda), Subaru (Subaru) and other industry players have decided to reduce production.
According to Subaru, the production volume for fiscal year 2020 (fiscal year ending March this year) is 823,000 units, which is 58,000 units less than originally planned, and 48,000 units of the reduction is due to the shortage of chips for vehicles. Speedland’s net income for fiscal 2020 was lowered to 75 billion yen from an estimated 80 billion yen (NT$21.2 billion).
The director of Speed Land, Minoruaki Okada, said at an online press conference about the shortage of automotive chips that he felt that the situation was moving in a slightly better direction, but he could not see the future direction yet.
In the face of the production cut, Speedy Barlow does not stop work as much as possible, and arranges for employees to reduce overtime or cancel holiday attendance to cope with it. As a result of the reduction in production, the group’s revenue for the whole year of 2020 was revised downward from the expected 110 billion yen to 100 billion yen.
Mazda President Akira Marumoto said on the 4th, due to the global shortage of automotive chips, production is expected to be reduced by 7,000 units in February.
Mazda’s turnover from April to December last year was 1 trillion 959.4 billion yen, a decrease of about 23% over the same period of the previous year. Mazda’s global car sales decreased by 16% compared to the previous year, and may have a loss of about 78 billion yen.
Mazda President Akira Marumoto said that the future will adjust the production plan, the impact of the shortage of car chips change every day, I do not know how the situation after next month.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun has reported that some production lines of Toyota, the leading auto industry in China, were shut down on January 11, but restarted production in the evening of the 12th.
The third production line of Toyota’s Guangzhou Auto Toyota, a joint venture with a local company in Guangzhou, was shut down, resulting in a reduction in production of cars and station wagons. Toyota told customers that the production line was shut down for four days, but it was expected to be able to schedule the use of chips for vehicles, so it restarted. The impact of chip shortages, Toyota’s U.S. Texas plant also decided to reduce production of an RV.
Honda in January in Japan to reduce production of small cars such as Fit about 4,000 units, in North America there are five types of car production reduction, production in China also reduced.
Nissan originally planned to produce the compact car Note in January in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, the chase of the plant, but the end of last year was delayed to fully obtain the chip, decided to reduce production in January this year. Nissin News reported that Nissan cut production by about 8,000 units in January and managed to be able to reduce the scale after February, but it seems that the impact of shortage of car chips still exists by March.
Many countries ask for help from Taiwan, a rare precedent for the global industry
The Japanese Economic News reported on the front page on January 25 that the U.S., German, and Japanese governments have asked Taiwan for assistance, expecting TSMC, UMC, and other companies to increase production of automotive chips. Due to the shortage of manufacturing parts, it is quite rare for multiple governments to request assistance from specific countries.
In Japan, Toyota and other industries formed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to assist the automotive industry, the Japanese side then asked Taiwan for assistance, hoping that TSMC and other increased production of chips.
Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported on February 4, 1987, when Japan’s motor majors accounted for half of the global semiconductor market share, TSMC business. After 34 years, the map has changed, the Japanese industry is no longer dominant, only Renesas Electronics (Renesas Electronics), CMOS image sensor and then the world’s leading Japanese Sony (Sony).
By Japan Electric (NEC), Hitachi, and Mitsubishi Electric semiconductor memory sector merger of Elpida (Elpida Memory), 2013 by the United States Micron Technology (Micron Technology) after the acquisition, the original intention to lead the “semiconductor national team” of the Japanese government abandoned Since last year, the Japanese government has been actively pursuing TSMC to set up factories and hinted that it is willing to provide tens of billions of yen in subsidies.
A curfew is imposed in Bangalore on March 22, 2020, and a no-entry notice is seen at the entrance to Intel‘s offices. (MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP via Getty Images)
●Japan worries about industrial hollowing out beckons TSMC, Intel
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan has budgeted 110 billion yen for “strengthening research and development of post-5G information and communication systems” in 2019, including “research and development of advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies”. Japan also hopes to recruit TSMC, Intel (Intel) to Japan to set up factories or set up R & D bases, driving Japanese semiconductor equipment and materials manufacturers to “return Home” and strengthen the relationship with TSMC division of labor and cooperation.
Japan lacks large semiconductor manufacturers, if the internationally competitive equipment and materials factories go overseas, will face the crisis of industrial hollowing out. TSMC announced in May last year in the United States after the establishment of the plant in Arizona, the Japanese side of the study has been judged impossible to produce chips in Japan, and then invited to set up a research and development center, hoping to retain Japan’s advanced technology.
Nikkan Kogyo News reported on January 7 that TSMC plans to set up an advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology R&D center in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture this year, and also plans to build a semiconductor factory in Japan in 2025, possibly in Kitakyushu City.
People familiar with Taiwan-Japan trade pointed out that advanced semiconductor factories often require hundreds of billions of yen investment, Japan’s water and electricity, land prices, expensive wages, TSMC set up factories in Japan is low.
The market once rumored that TSMC intends to go to Japan to build advanced packaging plant, but TSMC has denied, but evaluate the establishment of materials research and development center, and supply chain partners to jointly explore 3D and IC materials.
Japanese media analysis, the United States tough on China, China’s goal to localize the semiconductor, the deterioration of U.S.-China relations intensified, both sides hope to pull TSMC into the supply chain, the Japanese government plans to join the “Taiwan-U.S. lineup” joint research and development.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy and Trade believes that TSMC’s important customers Qualcomm and Apple are in the United States, the establishment of factories in the United States is reasonable, but the Japanese side expects TSMC to set up a joint R & D center in Japan, building Taiwan, the United States and Japan’s semiconductor “China encirclement network”.
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