If you’ve been following the news in the last few weeks, you may know that the auto industry is facing an unprecedented semiconductor shortage. Complete assembly lines are idling or stopped altogether, leaving dealer parking lots empty. As the shift to all-electric is orchestrated, the challenge of supply will become more and more pronounced.
According to a recent study by the English firm of IDTechEx, electric vehicles require 2.3 times more semiconductors in their construction than those with heat engines. In the current context, this is not negligible. It is claimed that electrification, a concept that encompasses all forms of hybrids and electrics, will require an investment of US $ 7.4 billion to ensure additional semiconductor production. Microcontrollers are particularly affected by this scarcity, stretching the “lead time to 44 weeks” in some cases, it is said.
Hyundai wants to repatriate production
It is in this context that the South Korean giant Hyundai said last week that it wanted to repatriate the production of electronic chips to stabilize its supply. “It will require significant investment, but we are working on it,” the manufacturer’s global chief operating officer, Jose Munoz, told Reuters.
As IDTechEx points out, the fact that 60% of semiconductor production is concentrated in the hands of a single supplier (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) exacerbates this crisis which has been going on for months. The demand for electronic equipment, which soared during the pandemic, also explains it.
Ford’s senior executive in Europe, Gunnar Herrmann, said in September that this crisis could last until 2024, but said it was difficult to predict the precise time of its end. It will therefore take patience and no doubt agree to make concessions on waiting times, or even on the characteristics of the coveted vehicle.