Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC says it is giving higher priority to the automotive sector to counter looming shortages of automotive chips. The company does not appear to be increasing capacity.
In a statement, TSMC said it will address the challenges in the supply of chips for the automotive sector and that this is a top priority. According to the company, the supply chain for the automotive sector is “long and complex” and the needs of customers in the sector have been verified. The capacity that TSMC has is already fully used to make chips for all kinds of different sectors.
The company says it will reallocate its wafer capacity to support the global automotive industry. Commenting on this issue, Jason Wang, a director of United Microelectronics Corp, said capacity building is difficult and it’s all about reprioritisation, Reuters writes.
Earlier this month, several car manufacturers already expressed their concerns about the impending chip shortages. Nissan and Honda fear they will be able to produce fewer cars as they struggle to get chips. Volkswagen previously warned about this. According to Continental, which supplies parts to automakers, automakers increased production of electric vehicles much faster than expected last year. That would have caused a run on chips; electric cars require more chips than fuel vehicles. It is not entirely clear from which chips there are shortages. For example, infotainment systems in cars require completely different chips than those for, for example, the battery management of an electric car.