Affected by the lack of chip supply, it is rumored that North and South Volkswagen has been caught in a production stoppage recently. Although Volkswagen Group (China) has publicly explained that this is only a short-term supply tension and the situation is not as serious as rumored, and has already started coordination work with its headquarters and relevant suppliers, this has not completely dispelled the public’s doubts.
Specifically, the chip shortage is mainly divided into two categories, one is applied to the ESP (electronic stability control system) MCU (micro-control unit). In the Chinese market, generally more than 100,000 yuan of models, especially high-end models will be equipped with ESP, which is part of the car’s active safety system, can play the role of anti-skid. The other is the MCU in the ECU (Electronic Control Module), which is widely used in various control systems in automobiles and is referred to as the “car computer”.
According to reports, the risk of chip supply cuts has also affected some other joint-venture automakers. Although the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) also said that the short-term imbalance between supply and demand will be gradually alleviated over time and will not have a major impact on the auto industry. But the lack of chips led to some enterprises to stop production, which is the first time in the automotive industry, I thought it was necessary to pay enough attention.
As the brain of the car, the importance of the chip is self-evident. Previously, people were just worried about the chip supply of independent car enterprises. In the domestic epidemic has been effectively controlled, the normal production of enterprises in the case of joint venture car companies actually also appeared in the chip supply crisis, which is more or less beyond everyone’s imagination.
Many analysts believe that the automotive chip shortage, the reason is affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, overseas large-scale wafer fabs and sealing and testing plants have announced the shutdown, coupled with the STMicroelectronics workers on strike, making the supply capacity is insufficient. At the same time, China’s auto market recovery exceeded expectations, but also further promote the growth of chip demand, resulting in some automotive production at risk of disruption.
In addition, the development of 5G technology to promote the consumer electronics field this year, the demand for chips in the rapid increase in chip production capacity challenges, seizing some of the automotive chip production capacity. Therefore, there is a “cell phone industry war, the automotive industry suffered a disaster,” the industry jokes.
It should be said that these analyses are reasonable. But from a deeper perspective, also lies in China’s automotive chip supply chain is too dependent on overseas markets, chip key core technologies, there is a “hollowing out”, so that the chip self-sufficiency is seriously inadequate.
According to the China Automotive Chip Industry Innovation Strategy Alliance data show that in 2019, the scale of China’s independent automotive chip industry only accounted for 4.5% of the world, and China’s automotive chip import rate of more than 90%, advanced sensors, on-board network, three electric systems, chassis electronic control, ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System), autonomous driving and other key system chips are overly dependent on imports. For example, IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), which is second only to the power battery in value in electric vehicles, requires more than 98% to be imported from abroad, and the price is 1.2 times to 1.8 times higher than that abroad. Infineon, Renesas, ON Semiconductor, Fairchild, Toshiba and other foreign companies control more than 80% of the global IGBT market share.
With the increasing degree of automotive intelligence and network connectivity, the use of chips is also increasing dramatically, and the importance of chips has become more prominent. In the new development pattern, how to self-reliance through science and technology, accelerate the enhancement of automotive chip self-sufficiency, to avoid the “neck” risk, has been urgent.
Post time: Aug-28-2024
