According to the website of Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, according to the industry federation of the world's largest auto market, China's booming electric vehicle industry may be frozen to some extent as the global chip shortage forces smaller car manufacturers to suspend production.
According to the China Passenger Car Market Information Association (CPCA), global chip foundries are capable of producing enough semiconductors, microcontrollers and high-end chips with artificial intelligence processors for China's 4 million new energy vehicles. Therefore, according to the forecast of China's new energy vehicle demand in 2022 by the China Passenger Car Market Information Association, there will be a chip gap of 1 million vehicles.
A research report released by the China Passenger Car Market Information Association (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") said that the shortage of automotive chips that hinder the growth of the automotive market has not yet eased. Best-selling models still need chips to ramp up production and fulfill the backlog of orders.
The report shows that the chain reaction of chip foundries' misjudgments of global demand has persisted since the end of 2020 and shows no signs of abating. The covid-19 pandemic made a comeback in Southeast Asian countries last summer, disrupting production at several foundries, adding to pressure on the already tight semiconductor supply chain in the third quarter of 2021.
Major automotive chip suppliers for Chinese automakers include Infineon Technologies in Germany, NXP Semiconductors in the Netherlands, Texas Instruments in the United States and Renesas Electronics in Japan. Some of their production lines are located in Southeast Asia.
China is beginning to be hit by supply chain disruptions. At the same time, the Chinese government is encouraging car owners to abandon gasoline-powered cars in favor of pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles to help China achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. New energy vehicle sales are expected to double this year, from 1.17 million units in 2020 to 2.4 million units.
Li Bin, CEO of NIO, said: "Chip shortage is still a problem plaguing the entire automotive industry. The COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a pause in chip production and affect the entire supply chain. "NIO is one of 3 innovative smart electric vehicle startups in China listed in New York.
Chips are generally used in vehicle manufacturing and in vehicle electronic systems. Smart features are increasingly being used in new models, such as technologies such as automatic parking, satellite navigation, voice control, and the Internet of Things. This has driven a surge in demand for semiconductors.
Due to the shortage of chip supply, the Shanghai-made Model 3 and Model Y automotive USB interfaces delivered by Tesla in November last year can only be used for charging, not for data transmission. According to Tesla's specifications, the previous USB interface could be used for both charging and data transfer.
According to David Zhang, an automotive researcher at North China University of Technology, the latest data show that China's automotive chip market was worth 61 billion yuan (about $9.5 billion) in 2018, most of which were imported chips.
Typically, a smart electric car equipped with assisted driving technology, voice recognition, and sophisticated in-car entertainment systems requires three times more chips than an internal combustion engine car.
In addition, young Chinese motorists are increasingly preferring electric vehicles with smart features. The China Passenger Car Market Information Association said some of the top smart ev manufacturers should sign contracts with chipmakers based on their own needs to ensure adequate chip supply.
Li Bin said that the expansion of production capacity by semiconductor manufacturers from the beginning of 2021 may help alleviate the shortage of automotive chips in the second half of 2022.
Gao Shen, an independent analyst based in Shanghai, said: "Every participant hopes that their assembly line will be able to operate as quickly as possible in the second quarter or second half of 2022 with sufficient chip supply. However, given the high buying interest in the Chinese market, the actual demand for new energy vehicles may exceed the forecast of 5 million units. ”
Georg Deluki, head of Chinese mainland and Sales for Hong Kong at German automaker Audi, said the company is working closely with all partners to optimize resources and take further countermeasures to mitigate the impact.
Swiss banks predicted in March 2021 that by 2030, three out of every five new cars on the road in China will be electric.
Peter Chen, an engineer at ZF TRW, a Shanghai-based auto parts company, said: "The rapid penetration of new energy vehicles in China will prompt global chipmakers to further expand their production capacity. The balance between demand and supply will not be achieved in a year or two. ”
Source: Reference News Network
Editor: Zuo Zongxin