The global automotive industry is in a chip shortage! German Minister of Economy and Energy Peter Altmaier wrote to the government of the Republic of China, calling for an increase in the supply of chips and naming TSMC as the world’s leading foundry. According to reports, in addition to Germany, the United States and Japan have also asked Taiwan for assistance through diplomatic channels. Taiwan scholars took the opportunity to propose that the government be called upon to exchange chips for vaccines to achieve mutual benefits.
According to Bloomberg information disclosed recently, Germany sent a letter to Taiwan’s economy minister and the vice president of the Executive Yuan, pointing out the importance of semiconductor chips to the automotive industry. The current chip shortage is endangering the German auto industry and even the global economic recovery; he also called on the government of the Republic of China to send a clear message to TSMC.
TSMC responded, “The shortage of chips for automotive electronics is the primary consideration, and will continue to work closely with automotive electronics customers to support their capacity needs.”
According to the Taiwan Business Times on the 25th, Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Meihua called TSMC senior management on the morning of the 24th, TSMC said that it would pay immediate attention to the production situation, if there is more capacity on the production line, or optimize the production efficiency of the extra chips, willing to cooperate with the government, giving priority to automotive chips. According to reports, the United States large car manufacturers Ford (Ford) also through the representative office in the United States Xiao Meiqin, hope that TSMC will give priority to supply some of the automotive electronics to Ford, to solve the lack of material suffering.
Automotive electronics Epidemic recovery is slow chip supply schedule far behind consumer electronics
Long-term research on the semiconductor industry, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (Taiwan Economic Research Institute) researcher Liu Pei-zhen analysis, automotive electronics demand side recovery last year was slower, the third quarter of last year, the global car manufacturers to resume the trend. TSMC has been in the second quarter of last year to inform the car manufacturers of automotive electronics if they do not place orders, scheduling I’m afraid will lag behind in action communications, and high-performance computing and even the Internet of Things, after the consumer electronics scheduling, so it will see the current situation of shortage of automotive electronics.
Taiwan Economic Research Institute researcher Liu Pei-fen analysis of TSMC advantages. (Photo by Huang Chunmei)
Liu Pei-zhen: “This Time from the German government, as well as earlier the United States, Japan’s official also hope to obtain the action of automotive electronics chips, in in showing the importance of TSMC in the global supply chain, more confirmed TSMC regardless of the technology war, as well as the epidemic of chip shipments, are playing the role of the military.”
Chip supply alarm U.S., Japan and Germany car manufacturers face production line shutdown challenges
Taiwan’s official media Central News Agency quoted the German business newspaper reported that due to chip shortages, Daimler (Daimler) in Germany’s largest Bremen (Bremen) plant recently forced to reduce the number of hours of workers, next month may even suspend assembly operations, Audi (Audi) and Fuchs (Volkswagen) part of the production line is also forced to suspend.
Japanese media NHK pointed out that Japan’s Toyota Motor (Toyota) in the United States in the southern Texas plant, Honda Motor in Japan’s Mie Prefecture Suzuka production facility, as well as Nissan Motor (Nissan) in Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, the chase of the factory have decided to implement a reduction in production, in addition to the Subaru (Subaru) is also considering a reduction in production matters.
In addition, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Toyota has temporarily suspended some of its automobile production lines in China since the 11th due to a shortage of automotive semiconductors.
The United States, Japan and Germany are looking for him TSMC chip process leading, ecosystem integrity
Germany, the United States, Japan to grab the car chip, TSMC capacity is limited, whether there are other countries can fill the gap? Liu Pei Zhen analysis, foundry automotive electronic chip process mainly 8-inch wafers, Taiwan’s TSMC is not the only supplier.
Liu Pei Zhen: “Of course TSMC will provide the most diverse automotive electronics process, from .13 micron to 14 nanometer process are available, TSMC’s automotive electronics ecosystem is the most advanced, why countries chip are hoping to TSMC’s supply is the most priority, this is the main reason.”
Liu Pei Zhen analysis, TSMC this year, the status of the orders presented full capacity, the current shortage of semiconductors and price increase effect will continue. Semiconductor factory last year by the epidemic due to the expansion of production capacity is not obvious; but the demand side because of the severe development of the epidemic, the epidemic-derived technology business opportunities are still continuing, in the supply is not enough, the rapid rise in demand under the magnitude of the fourth quarter of last year, the first wave of price increases throughout the semiconductor, the first quarter of this year will also appear in the second wave of rise, from the foundry, extended to the downstream packaging, and even upstream chip design.
Sun Mingde, director of Taiwan Economic Research Institute’s Center for Economic Forecasting, suggested that Taiwan take chips for vaccines. (Photo by Huang Chunmei)
Chip for vaccine? Taiwan scholars suggest the government to pull up the supply coordination for mutual benefit
The director of Taiwan Economic Research Institute (TEI)’s Center for Economic Forecasting, Michael Sun, mentioned at a press conference on the 25th, that foreign countries now want the ROC government to coordinate TSMC’s chip supply priority, and he suggested that the ROC government should coordinate in the middle, “We give priority to supplying chips to these countries, can’t we give priority to transferring some vaccines over, chips for vaccines is something our country can do. This is something we can do. It’s a reciprocal move between countries.”
Professor Liu Dehai of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the National Chengchi University pointed out in an interview with this station that China’s weakest point is the semiconductor; the United States’ strengths are in chip design and research and development, but it does not have the ability to produce large quantities, and most of them are outsourced, and Taiwan has a decisive influence in the semiconductor industry. As for whether this can be converted into diplomatic leverage, Liu Dehai admitted that the difficulty is high. “We are now a single semiconductor is very strong, everyone needs our help, but, hard to extend to diplomatic terms, I think it is more limited.”
Taiwan Toyo drug last October once high-profile announcement, access to Germany BioNTech SE and the United States Pfizer (Pfizer) cooperation vaccine Taiwan agency, the fastest estimated arrival of 10 million doses in the first quarter of this year, for 5 million people to administer. But the vaccine’s Greater China agency authorized Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceuticals, in Taiwan, the furore finally shouted card.
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