Text/Shore Qing
This year is undoubtedly a tested year for the car market, the spread of the epidemic and the lack of core troubles have caused a decline in production and sales, which has sounded the alarm bell for countless car companies, but challenges often coexist with opportunities, how to survive the crisis and solve follow-up problems, is the top priority at present.
The management of Great Wall Motors, led by Wei Jianjun, obviously has a deep understanding of this problem, in order to no longer be "stuck neck" by upstream suppliers and firmly grasp the core technology in its own hands, Great Wall Motors began to look for enterprise cooperation, enter the semiconductor industry, and strive to master chip technology.
On December 29, according to the official release, Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. signed a strategic investment agreement with Hebei Tongguang Semiconductor Co., Ltd., a leading third-generation semiconductor company in the industry. This means that Great Wall Motors has officially entered the core industry of third-generation semiconductors.
Yan Jihong, deputy secretary of baoding municipal party committee and mayor, Ma Yimin, secretary of the party working committee of the high-tech zone, Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motor, Zheng Qingchao, chairman of Tongguang Co., Ltd., Wen Lina, chairman of Baoding Industrial Guidance and Development Group, and Liu Xin, executive partner of Junxi Capital, attended the signing ceremony.
Great Wall Motor, as the leading investor, will not only deepen the improvement of its own industry, but also provide funds and other help for the latter, promote the development of its silicon carbide industry, focus on the application of the third generation of semiconductor silicon carbide in the new energy automobile industry, no longer affected by upstream suppliers, promote the industrialization of silicon carbide semiconductor materials and chips, and help the development of new energy vehicles.
From the existing information, Hebei Tongguang Semiconductor Co., Ltd. was established in 2012, which is the largest in Hebei Province and the first high-tech enterprise in China to achieve mass production of the third generation of semiconductor material silicon carbide single crystal substrate. In the field of third-generation semiconductor core technology for many years, with long-term experience and technology accumulation, it is in a leading position in the field. Relying on the Institute of Semiconductors of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with strong technical backing support, it is a company with strength and experience specializing in the research and development, preparation and sales of silicon carbide single crystals.
In September this year, Tongguang's first expansion project, Laiyuan Factory, has been put into operation. For future development, Tongguang co., Ltd. has a long-term plan, is expected to build 2,000 silicon carbide crystal growth furnace growth base and processing base, or can increase the annual production capacity of silicon carbide single crystal substrate to 600,000 pieces.
At present, the first high-end model, Mechlon, released by Sharon Motors, an independent operating brand newly incubated by Great Wall Motors, has applied silicon carbide products, and subsequent series models will also apply silicon carbide products on a large scale. In the Great Wall 2025 strategy, we can find that Great Wall Motors plans to make the sales of new energy vehicles account for 80% in 2025, and the demand for semiconductor products such as chips will only increase day by day.
For Great Wall Motors, the in-depth layout of the semiconductor industry not only firmly grasps the technology in its own hands, but also further plans the strategy of 2025. The trend of automotive electrification has become a major change in the era without reversal, and entering the third-generation semiconductor core industry as soon as possible can not only solve the current technical problems and help the industry break through barriers, but also be an important part of the long-term development strategy.
After investing in Tongguang Shares, Great Wall Motors will continue to deepen its cooperation with them, promote the accumulation of technology in the field of third-generation semiconductors, promote the vertical layout of the semiconductor industry chain, strengthen the layout of Great Wall Motors' upstream and downstream and device applications in the silicon carbide industry, and help Tongguang to accelerate the pace of research and development and expansion, strengthen the corporate strength of Tongguang Shares, help it obtain more opportunities, form a more concentrated development pattern and a more perfect industrial chain.
The joint cooperation between Great Wall Motors and Tongguang Co., Ltd. will further promote the development of both sides and achieve mutual benefit, in the future, the two sides will further reach in-depth cooperation, integrated development, and joint efforts to make a positive role in promoting automotive intelligence, provide important support for the development of the new energy automobile industry, and accelerate technological innovation and localization in the automotive field.