According to The micro-network, the "new four modernizations" such as intelligence, electrification, networking and sharing have accelerated the transformation and upgrading of the automobile industry, and have also opened the next big market of the semiconductor industry, especially MCU and power semiconductors. Although the automotive chip market is huge, chip manufacturers need to fight a long-term hard battle to cut into the front-loading supply chain of car factories. So far, the entire automotive semiconductor market is still dominated by international semiconductor giants such as Infineon, NXP, Renesas and STMicroelectronics, and there are very few domestic automotive chip manufacturers that can break through, and Anhui Saiteng Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Saiten Micro") is one of them.
Since its establishment in 2016, Sai Teng Micro has been deeply involved in the field of automotive electronic chips, committed to the development and industrialization of automotive-grade chips, and in 2018, it took the lead in realizing the batch shipment of self-developed automotive-grade MCUs on the body control module (BCM). The MCU was used in the dynamic steering taillights of Geely Automobile's flagship model, Lynk & Co 03, and 50,000 vehicles were loaded that year, achieving a major breakthrough in the industrialization of domestic MCUs in the automotive frontals market. In the past 2021, Saiteng micro-MCUs, high-voltage LDOs and MOSFETs and other series of products have fully blossomed, and shipments have increased significantly in the automotive frontage market, with a total shipment of 10 million units. At the same time, the layout of IGBT from single tube to module has been completed, 1200V single tube has been shipped in batches, and the 650V 400A module is expected to enter mass production this year.
Dr. Huang Jipo, general manager of Sai Teng Micro, pointed out in an interview with JiWei Network a few days ago, "From traditional cars to intelligent electric vehicles, from single chip (MCU) to combination set (MCU + power management IC + power device) to the overall solution (turning water lamp control scheme, vehicle wireless charging scheme... In the past five years, we have explored a path suitable for the survival and development of domestic automotive chips. ”
Breaking into the automotive frontage supply chain is a protracted battle to prepare
To enter the automotive supply chain and achieve mass supply in the front-loading market, a vehicle specification MCU must first accept 1-2 years of AEC-Q100 vehicle specification chip certification, plus 1-2 years of auto parts program development and on-board test certification using the chip, a total of at least 3 years. If you count the chip-level design, tape-out and packaging testing, the application plan level of revision optimization, which means that a car specification MCU from the beginning of the design to the front-loading market stable batch shipment time of at least 5 years. In contrast, the depot itself is more conservative and cautious, after all, it involves safety and risk. However, under the current serious lack of cores, the concept of car companies has also undergone a great change.
For local chip manufacturers, the road to entering the automotive front-loading market is even more difficult, after all, there have been few successful cases before. From the research and development of automotive chips, verification, module program development, spare parts assembly and on-board testing, and finally to the procurement of automakers, each process is difficult and requires repeated testing and verification. Even if a million find a problem with a product, it must be checked from beginning to end, find the root cause and take effective solutions, and the whole control process is quite strict. After much painstaking effort, the chip was finally on the car, and it was also shipped in batches, and the problem of how to ensure stable supply came again. Since the fourth quarter of 2020, the continuous tightness and shortage of semiconductor foundry capacity has become an insurmountable "mountain" in front of local chip manufacturers.
The "new four modernizations" make the distance between car manufacturers and chip manufacturers closer, which also requires that the thinking of chip companies should also change accordingly, and they must think about problems from the perspective of the main engine factory, actively integrate into the automotive electronics industry chain, and lay out in advance to help them solve pain points and difficult problems. Taking the cooperation between the company and Chery Automobile as an example, Sai TengWei began to carry out in-depth cooperation with Chery in the field of lamp control at the end of 2020, and completed the development and on-board verification of the front and rear steering water lamp electronic control module based on its own MCU and its supporting power IC at the end of June last year. At the time of the extreme lack of cores in the third quarter of last year, Sai Tengwei's lamp scheme was urgently on top, ensuring the normal production of Chery Automobile's flagship model and not stopping the line because of the supply cut off by international manufacturers. "Without the Sai Teng micro emergency plan, Chery Automobile's 20,000 or 30,000 cars in the fourth quarter of last year would not be able to get off the line." Huang Jipo said, "From chip car specification certification to module solution on the car, Sai Teng Micro has been preparing for more than 3 years. The comprehensive solution of its own chip, its own set of chips and complete modules is the key point to alleviate the urgent needs of car companies and deepen cooperation with car companies. ”
The lack of cores in the automotive industry that has lasted since the second half of 2020 is unexpected by the entire automotive industry, and it is a once-in-a-lifetime good time for domestic automotive chips. However, it is not enough to rely on a single variety of chips to achieve domestic substitution, at least not in time.
At present, Sai Tengwei's auto OEMs that ship in bulk include Shanghai GM, SAIC-GM-Wuling, Guangzhou Automobile, Chery Automobile, Geely Automobile, Jianghuai Automobile and Dongfeng Liuqi Motor. The cooperation with the main engine factory for many years has also made Huang Jipo realize that the domestic chip cutting into the automotive supply chain is a protracted hard battle, and it must have determination, but also endure loneliness and perseverance, while also making sufficient preparations in advance and being good at seizing opportunities.
In the post-core shortage era, chip companies must provide technology supply to car manufacturers (Tier-1)
The problem of the lack of core in this round of automobiles is not only the production capacity of the chip end, but also a long-term problem in the entire automotive electronics industry chain, and its core problem is that the traditional car factory through the first/second tier supplier (Tier-1/2) and then the supply chain with the chip factory is very lengthy, resulting in a serious separation and disconnection between the demand side and the supply side. The "new four modernizations" bring many new features, new configurations and new application scenarios, and bring more chip demand, forcing car manufacturers to bypass Tier-1, or even Tier-2, and directly dock with chip manufacturers.
Huang Jipo pointed out that the difficulty of domestic substitution is mainly due to the fact that the traditional supply chain model causes car companies and chip companies to be far apart, lack of common language, poor communication, resulting in many needs mismatched problems. "The real needs of car companies can not be understood by chip companies, and chip companies always think that a chip can solve the problems faced by car companies, if this Gap can not be bridged as soon as possible, domestic substitution can only be an empty word."
The lack of core has also sounded the alarm bell for the industrial chain, and how to establish a long-term mechanism in the future, try to avoid the recurrence of the suspension of production due to the lack of core. Huang Jipo believes that car manufacturers should truly realize the urgency and importance of the localization of core chips, and should take the initiative to integrate into the semiconductor industry chain and actively connect with chip companies; and chip companies themselves, in addition to constantly polishing products and technologies and improving research and development strength, should also continuously strengthen the ability to dock car companies, as the main engine factory "zhixin friends" and "technology Tier-1", not only can provide a rich chip product portfolio, but also provide value-added services supporting software and algorithms.
In 2019, Sai TengWei cooperated with Chery New Energy to develop the first-generation in-vehicle wireless charging solution in the capacity of "Technology Tier-1", which was tested and verified and handed over to chery New Energy's existing Tier-1 suppliers recognized by both parties to direct production and supply. Similarly, after SAITENG and SAIC-GM successfully developed the second-generation vehicle wireless charging solution module with SAIC-GM in early 2021, it was also directly produced and supplied by SGM's existing Tier-1 supplier. This innovative business model of "technology Tier-1 and business Tier-2" not only gives Sai Teng Micro the opportunity to deeply dock with car factories and accelerate the introduction of its own chips in new projects in car factories, but also increases its bargaining power in direct customers- Tier-1 suppliers and achieves commercial success.
"MCU + Power" combination punch force, accelerate bigger and stronger
As early as 2018, Sai Teng Micro took the vehicle specification MCU as the main control, supplemented by supporting high-voltage LDOs and MOSFETs, and tested the bull knife on the Geely Lynk & Co 03 steering water light project, and achieved 50,000 vehicles in that year. Subsequently, after the tempering of a number of projects such as vehicle wireless charging, glass regulator and PTC auxiliary heating system, the platform-type socket and module solution of "MCU + Power (power device + power management IC)" has gradually become the main business model of Sai Teng Micro, which in turn has forced the company to gradually establish a unique technology development and product development route. Huang Jipo believes that although the total demand for semiconductors in automobiles is very large, the amount of single model products is not large, which is a typical small number of diversified markets. Rich product line portfolio is also a key factor for the international semiconductor giants to monopolize the automotive semiconductor market for a long time, and the product layout of "MCU+" of Sai Teng Micro not only benchmarks the international automotive semiconductor giants, but also caters to the real needs of car companies in the wave of "new four modernizations".
By the end of 2021, Sai TengWei has launched two series of ASM87A and ASM3XA, a variety of AEC-Q100 certified vehicle-grade MCUs and their supporting high-voltage LDO, LED drivers and MOSFET/IGBT and other power devices, which have been successfully applied to new energy vehicle electronic control systems, body control systems and new on-board intelligent terminals and other auto parts, and supplied to a number of well-known automobile manufacturers in batches.
In the past 2021, in order to undertake the anhui provincial development and Reform Commission's major special project for the new energy automobile industry "New Energy Vehicle Electronic Control System SOC Chip Industrialization" as an opportunity, Sai Teng Micro strengthened the strategic layout of MCU+, further increased the development of new energy vehicle size electronic control SOC chips and IGBT devices, and consolidated the technical foundation and technology accumulation of the company's new energy vehicle electronic control core chip suppliers. The company has successfully launched a special MCU for small electronic control of new energy vehicles - ASM31AK83X in the second quarter of 2021, and is expected to achieve mass production in the second quarter of 2022, with the main application areas including electronic water pumps, PTC auxiliary heaters, electric air conditioners and other auxiliary electronic control systems. The ASM31AK83X, together with the 1200V IGBT single tube, will form the first generation of XEMIC's electronically controlled core chipset.
The company will also start the development of the main electronic control SoC series chip for new energy vehicles in the second half of 2022, which will fully benchmark the DSP chip of the Texas Instrument C2000 series, which is most commonly used in the main electronic control system of domestic electric vehicles, and plan to mass produce in the first half of 2024. The series of chips will be combined with 650V IGBT modules to form the second-generation electronic control core chipset of Cyteng Micro.
"From peripheral spare parts to core electronic control systems, from a single master MCU to MCU+Power, from pure hardware to software and hardware integration value-added services, Sai Teng Micro will continue to deepen the cultivation of automotive electronics and contribute to the localization of mainland automotive core chips." Dr. Huang Jipo concluded.
![Continuing to attack automotive electronic chips, Sai Teng Micro received tens of millions of yuan of A round investment from Hongzhuo Capital[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)