Everything about the semiconductor Shortage Affecting the Auto Industry
The global automotive industry has been rattled due to semiconductor shortage. Leading automakers report states that production losses of go up to 40 percent due to these disruptions. In response to the shortage of such semiconductor chips, the US government has introduced a number of initiatives for the United States, including the Chips (Manufacturing Auxiliary Incentive for Semiconductors Manufacturing) Act.
Semiconductors, sometimes known as integrated circuits (ICs) or microchips, are made up of pure material (usually silicon or germanium) or compounds such as gallium arsenide. Semiconductors devices are ubiquitous in our daily lives. Semiconductors applications include consumer electronics such as cell phones, laptops, computers, telecommunications, 5G, cloud computing infrastructure, and automobile.
In today’s technologically advanced vehicles, semiconductor devices are used for important tasks such as sensing, security functions, etc. For power management, display, and vehicle control. The growing use of semiconductors in hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) is currently growing significantly, with more than 1 million EVs added worldwide last year.Today’s deficits for semiconductor shortage or chip shortage for cars at the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic when the demand for cars was declining. However the semiconductor shortage has not affected high performance or expensive parts .
Today’s deficits can be attributed to the semiconductor shortage used in cars at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when demand for cars was declining. However, the production of high-performance chips has not stopped. As the global workforce moves to remote work environments and quarantine due to the epidemic, the demand for consumer electronics, smartphones, laptops, and monitors has increased. Big Semiconductor manufacturers prefer to make chips for these electronics rather than cars.
Semiconductor components consist of wafers like materials such as silicon, gallium arsenide, or silicon carbide substrate. Sophisticated nano-scale fabrication techniques are used to store and remove components in a controlled manner through hundreds of fabricated steps in order to create the ultimate semiconductor chip, often with nuclear precision. Semiconductor devices are made in special facilities called clean rooms, which require ultra-clean air circulation.
Reducing particulate matter in clean air is important because particulate matter can cause small (nano) errors in the production process. Cleanroom are used semiconductor fabrication equipment (often referred to as wafer fab equipment or WFE) is expensive. The complex manufacturing process of semiconductor chips is about $ 500 billion in industry and it is expected to grow. Semiconductor devices perform a variety of functions, such as microprocessors, switches, lights or thermal sensors, and signal amplification – all of which are applicable to modern vehicles.
Effect of semiconductor shortage & WHY are these ICs so important?
Here are some of the uses of semiconductor in automobile: which will make you understand why and where ICs are used and why the semiconductor shortage has bought all major automobile companies to their knees.
Semiconductor shortage affecting Safety and driver assistance: In modern vehicles, semiconductor components support safety and semi-autonomous driver assistance. Smart functions are implemented by semiconductor or IC devices including blind-spot detection systems, rear-view cameras, anti-collision sensors, adaptive cruise control, lane-change assist, airbag deployment sensors, emergency braking, and so on.
Semiconductor shortage affecting Electronics for the Vehicle: Many vehicle control functions have now shifted towards electricity instead of using mechanical systems. Semiconductor are the so-called brain of these electronics components. This electrification helps improve the combustion efficiency of hybrid and electric vehicle engines or battery management systems, supports energy recovery in regenerative braking systems, and supports electric vehicle technology.
Connection and entertainment: As Modern vehicles are increasingly using connectivity technology to enable Internet connectivity, GPS, route and road closure maps, and emergency services along with new and improved infotainment systems, screens, and also featured ORVM’s. All these functions are carried on by semiconductor components. That is why semiconductor shortage has crippled the automotive industry .
EVs, Future vehicles with semi/fully autonomous driving abilities: Semiconductor Shortage has the most effect on EV’s , since most of its functions require a semiconductor as EV’s should have a human perceptual abilities such as visual tracking. Semiconductor devices are important for capturing and processing captured data using powerful onboard computing systems that provide reliable, accurate, and timely control systems onboard. This human-like perception is enabled by imaging cameras, sensors, radar, light detection, and ranging and ultrasonic sensors.
this is why the semiconductor shortage has shaken the world, with increasing control and adoption of electric vehicles, there is a growing need to develop charging capabilities to charge the electric vehicle using either a power source or a battery. Semiconductor play an important role in fast charging, fast charging is a crucial feature used in charging one electric car in minutes. In addition, then there are portable charge carriers in the form of semiconductor solar cells or photovoltaic cells. While charging infrastructure are more likely to be installed in cities and interconnected within a grid of other charging facilities along with the local electricity provider for a given radius, there are still concerns about power outages in highway or off-grid locations and certainly a hill station. Depending on the geographical location and the availability of sunlight, solar panels can help create clean energy for charging electric vehicles.
Using such solar energy power charging stations can also help reduce the load on electrical grids. There are two ways to charge an electric vehicle using a solar cell. The first method uses solar cells for the charging stations. Drivers and passengers can use this charging station and take a short break road while their cars are being charged. The second method uses solar cells assembled in electric vehicles to generate electricity in cars. Ongoing research shows that vehicle-integrated photovoltaics have significant advantages, even in locations with seasonal sunlight. Such concepts are currently being developed in prototype form, as evidenced by the concept car created by Fraunhofer ISE. Manufacturers are working to integrate solar cell modules into cars for the future. But all these ramification require a lot of semiconductors and the world is now facing a Semiconductor Shortage.
Semiconductors play an important role in modern vehicles with multiple functions including safety, electronics, communication, and connection. As hybrid and electric vehicles become more common day by day on our roads in the future, the use of semiconductors in cars is expected to increase. Also, semiconductors in the form of power devices and solar cells are creating the charging infrastructure needed to power all-electric vehicles. This is why the automotive market is quite shaken at this moment and namely all major automakers have faced some or kind of loss due to this semiconductor shortage.
Toppling and hampering the production of cars for every carmaker around the world.
Around the world, due to semiconductor shortage car assembly lines are going silent, workers sit idly, and dealership parking lots are appearing to be empty. Semiconductor shortage, small but important chips used to calibrate car fuel injections, running infotainment system or be the brain for cruise control .Auto manufacturing of power infotainment systems at General Motors plant in Kansas City shut down last February due to semiconductor shortage and has yet to be commissioned.
Mercedes-Benz has started stockpiling chips for more expensive models and temporarily closed factories that make cheaper C-Class due to semiconductor shortage. Porsche warned U.S. dealers this month that customers would have to wait at least another 12 weeks to get their cars because they have Semiconductor shortage or chip shortage used to monitor tire pressure. French automaker Peugeot, part of the newly formed automaker Empire Stalantis, has even replaced the old-fashioned analog speedometer with digital units in some models.
Disruption could not have come at a much worse time. The demand for cars has come back strongly from the Pandemic recession, consumers are willing to spend the money they have saved over the past two years. They are also eager to travel by road and avoid air travel as much as possible. Semiconductor supply is depriving carmakers of the opportunity to make up for lost sales.Due to the robust demand situation and also being more held back by the semiconductor shortage issue of chip shortage said by OLA Kallenius- Daimler chief executive.
Some automakers, such as Renault, have begun to pick up their chips and save for more expensive models that carry more miles. Renault’s deputy chief Executive officer Clotide dalebos said that they have found an intelligent way by prioritizing cars with higher margins to deal with this crisis. Some buyers may be lucky enough to bring a new car home but may lack the option to use some specialized chips. Porsche has already announced to its U.S. dealers that it will not be able to offer high-end seats for the MACAN SUV for the next few months. Which can be adjusted in 18 different ways and is a popular upgrade. They require a certain type of semiconductor chip which is not available in the market at this moment.
Why there is still a chip shortage/semiconductor shortage?
The chip shortage will continue to plague the auto industry in 2022, but the good news is that the problem is expected to improve over time. In addition to the devastating deaths, COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way we live, from travel and education to the way people work. This pandemic has had a significant and unfortunate impact on the automotive industry,
This has disrupted the global supply chain and severely affected vehicle production. But perhaps nothing more has brought car companies to their knees than the constant semiconductor shortage , which remains a major concern for the last two years after the coronavirus spread around the world.
For a myriad of important reasons, chip shortages remain a big problem said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global auto forecasting at Auto Forecast Solutions. Automakers from the large ones to their smaller counterparts are still suffering from a severe shortage of semiconductors, even the smallest components that are needed for the simplest cars and trucks. Everything from advanced driver-assistance features to infotainment systems to heated steering wheels is powered by one or the other computer chip, and as vehicles become more sophisticated, they will continue to do so in the future.
Toyota still faces hurdles affecting manufacturing. Their teams are working hard to reduce the impact on production. In North America, they expected about 25,000 to 30,000 fewer vehicles produced last February shared by automakers during a roadshow. The good news is that Toyota does not expect this cut to affect employment. General Motors faces a similar challenge. Late last year, the company confirmed that it was unable to deliver. Some features of many of its new models are due to the lack of chips, although it is going to get worse day by day. Fortunately, they do not currently have a North American working assembly plant that can do this.
Global semiconductor shortage are currently putting the auto market to stand still. The Detroit-based carmaker told Rhodeshow on the second shift of has resumed in Fairfax, Kansas factory, Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac X4 and home of Ramos Crisp, Mexico, where Chevrolet Blazers and Equinox SUVs are manufactured.
A big reason why automakers are not getting enough chips is that semiconductor makers favor smartphones, video game consoles, and other consumer electronics makers over electric vehicles and cars which tend to be more lucrative for customers:
A modern car can easily have more than 3,000 sets of semiconductor chips. But car chips amount to only a certain portion of the demand is also a major reason for semiconductor shortage. TSMC is also known as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is one of the few manufacturers of a variety of car chips that are important for automation, but as of 2020, according to Roland Berger, a German consultancy company, sales for automakers grew by 3% only out of 20% off the company’s sales growth.
TSMC’s main customers are smartphone makers, which account for more than half of their sales. Smartphones outnumber cars by production units by a very wide margin. In 2019, before the pandemic hit the global economy, automakers produced 93 million vehicles, compared to 1.4 billion units of smartphones. Intelligence. Overall, chip shortages and other supply chain problems reduced vehicle production by 1.3 million units in the first three months of the year, according to a consultant named IHS Markit. The issue has now become a source of concern for most political leaders in Washington and other capitals.
German Economics Minister Peter Altmaier recently turned to his Taiwanian counterpart, the center of global semiconductor manufacturers, and at length asked the Taiwanese minister if he would arrange some vital chips from German automakers. A group of German economic research institutes warned in a joint report this month that chip shortages “have become a serious problem for producers, especially in the auto industry.”
The crisis has shown how dependent the auto industry is on a few certain suppliers, but also on the weakness of its disruption. Supply chain managers were shocked last month when a fire broke out at the Renaissance Electronics factory in Hitachi Nakar, north of Tokyo, and the factory shut down. Renesas Electronics is a leading supplier of chips used for monitoring braking operations, power steering control, airbag installation, and some other additional tasks. Regardless of their strategy, the decisions of chip companies will resonate far beyond their industry, affecting the high-tech, consumer goods and automotive companies that rely on them.
Weather also plays a role :
Earlier this year, a hurricane in Texas forced the closure of three semiconductor factories aiding to the semiconductor shortage . Analysts at IHS Markets have warned in a recent report that Taiwan is in the grip of a severe drought. Chip production requires a lot of very pure quality water.
Even without Pandemic and Disruptions in the supply chain, the auto industry has been in kind of a downhill turmoil. In the United States, sales have stagnated since the early 2000s. Profit margin getting less and less for automakers. Some large automakers cannot even avoid switching to electric vehicles due to an increase in demand.
Role of Government:
Manmohan S. teaches supply chain management at City Business School under the University of London said “If I were a chipmaker, I wouldn’t be investing in a new factory if I didn’t get free money from the government,”.
Free money might be on the way. On February 24, 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order for tackling the chip deficit crisis by exploring options to strengthen the chip supply chain. The White House also held a summit on chip shortage this month and proposed $ 50 billion in infrastructure funding to offset the declining share of chip production off the U.S. coast. But new chip factories cannot be built overnight to meet the current deficit.
And useless government subsidies are of no use to these automakers, semiconductor manufacturers and other suppliers could probably build new factories in or near China or Korea, the largest auto market while the United States and Europe continue to grow. It is not clear exactly how long the chip shortage will last. Mr. Sodhi also said that he suspected the chip-makers were widening the gap in order to get subsidies from the government and that the crisis could be resolved within a month.
Roland Burger’s auto industry consultants were even more pessimistic, saying the deficit could continue throughout the year. On Thursday, Reynolds’ Mrs. Delbos said that the visibility is declining to determine the end of the chip crisis as new news is coming every day. Meanwhile, carmakers are making improvements to reduce losses. Daimler’s Mercedes unit allocates rare chips to its most expensive models, such as the company’s EQS luxury electric sedan revealed by the company last month, which is expected to start at around $ 100,000.
How did this happen?
The automotive industry employs some of the brightest and most persistent dreamers within any industry. They plan way ahead usually a year ahead including every detail to meet customer demand regarding safety and fuel economy standards. This is why the industry’s collective semiconductor error is so fatal. Schuster said he did not think anyone thought it would be a problem, although car companies should be aware of the potential risks.
Fiorani said, basically everything we buy contains chips. In the early days of the pandemic, automakers reduced semiconductor orders as sales were expected to decline sharply. OEMs or Original equipment manufacturers have mostly been moved out of the production line, and chip makers have redistributed factory space to more profitable and desirable things like iPhone and PlayStation chips and other products. Now that auto sales are heating up again, chip-makers can’t meet demand because their power has been taken away but, unfortunately, turning on the lights and restarting production is not easy.
Another problem that Fiorani points out is profitability. The auto industry needs older chips, semiconductor manufacturers less profit. Some parking sensors require a fraction of the processing power compared to that of an iPhone 13 Pro. Additionally, for safety reasons, automakers use proven designs, reliable chips that can be used for decades in all temperatures, humidity, and other conditions.
Whether it’s Nvidia, Texas Instruments, TSMC, or any other manufacturer, chipmakers are encouraged to create more advanced semiconductors at the expense of automated customers owing to the semiconductor shortage. LMC Automotive believes that things will become normal between 2022 and 2023.
Semiconductor Shortage leading to loss of pay and work :
This classification led Daimler to temporarily shut down a plant in Germany that produces low-cost C-Class Sedans. Most of the factory’s 18,500 workers were laid off by the end of April, but they continued to receive government-subsidized short-term work benefits.
Similarly, Volkswagen has stopped production at a plant in Germany that makes sedans and other combustion-engine models, and a plant in Mexico that makes Tiguan SUVs for the US market. But Zwickau, a German factory that makes ID.3 sedans and ID.4 SUVs from Volkswagen is all set to dominate the market and are also growing have not been affected by the chip shortage at all, according to the company.
Since the beginning of the year, GM has had to temporarily shut down production at least half a dozen of its plants, sometimes to make cars without electronics and to park them until further parts are available. Ford Motor said last month that it would shut down more U.S. factories that are experiencing a shortage of chips.
The auto industry has been crippled earlier too due to disruptions o the supply chain. Mr. Wallenius recalls a tornado that struck Puerto Rico and shut down production at several factories across the USA, which surprised him and almost everyone else since these factories were the only source of coating essential for some kind of automotive electronics.
Cars are made up of thousands of parts having some fixed suppliers, as well as sub-suppliers and sub-suppliers and even big automakers, are struggling to keep a track of each part in order.
The economy of this industry is such that only the manufacturer who sells a maximum number of their units can survive.
Small businesses die because they can’t produce cheap parts or materials like big companies, which makes the industry dependent on one or two large manufacturers for parts such as high-pressure fuel lines or special types of plastic.
The current semiconductor shortage may not be the last semiconductor shortage faced by the industry. The demand for semiconductor in the automotive industry is expected to explode with the growing popularity of electric vehicles increasingly relying on software rather than autonomous driving features and internal combustion engines.
However, Mr. Kallenius said it was not the most complex chip that was currently facing a shortage. They are missing the simplest chips that cost a few pennies or dollars preventing them to make and run a $ 75,000 car.
Global ramifications:
Car production was already declined significantly as of 2021 due to COVID-19 & chip shortage. According to Jeff Schuster, president of Americas Operations and Global Vehicle Forecasting at LMC Automotive, Ford was hit the hardest and very early. This is because a number of high-profile announcements have been made, including the redesigned F-150. According to Schuster, the Blue Oval missed out on about 1.25 million units last year.
But Ford was not the only automaker to face heavy losses due to semiconductor shortage. Volkswagen has withdrawn about 1.15 million vehicles planned for production, GM and Toyota have withdrawn about 1.1 million each, and Stellantis about 1 million vehicles. Not all companies got affected equally. Overall, Schuster said that Japanese and Korean OEMs are more isolated. They are close to China, where there are plenty of chips. As a result, Chinese manufacturers feel less impacted than their global competitors.
The average inventory of consumer-owned computer chips, such as automakers and medical device makers, fell from 40% short of its demand in 2019 to less than 5% in 2021, according to a survey published by the U.S. Department of Commerce. stated that due to semiconductor shortage the results were devastating for the auto industry . The statement said the covid outbreak, natural disasters, or political unrest disrupted most foreign semiconductor factories the extent that some US manufacturing plants may close is also American workers are being laid off making their families vulnerable or at risk.
Solution for Microchips (taking care of Semiconductor shortage):
Still, there are options to ensure a reliable supply of auto-grade chips for the next coming year. Foreign companies can come up with facilities with large production capabilities or set up more plants in the United States. Both strategies are important to solve the problem, Schuster said, because global chip demand will grow, not just from the auto industry. Gaming, smartphones, and the growing Internet of Things will use more and more semiconductors in the coming years.
Making chips within the state is now an absolute necessity. The biggest problem is that one of these plants cannot be placed overnight. Fiorani explained that It takes months or even years to build a new facility with all resources in one place. Converting existing factories into chip factories is not really an option because they are highly specialized. Then there is the price tag amounting to $10 billion just to get started making the factory set up is a capital-intensive hurdle. Another option, however, is to form some kind of chip consortium for the auto industry. Fiorani said this could be the best way to avoid future supply shortages, but acknowledged that partnerships could be a big challenge for competing car companies.
Forecast: Cautiously optimistic
If all this is good news, the demand for vehicles remains strong and companies are able to sell any cars and trucks that can produce them. The chip deficit should be reduced this year, although LMC Automotive estimates it could be reduced, Schuster said.
Between 2022 and 2023, things are likely to be normalized regardless of the time frame COVID-19 continues its wrath throughout the world. Similarly, Fiorani said he expects everything to be fine in the second half of this year when car production could return to the pre-deficit era. There are some investments government can help the industry with such as stepping in and setting up to increase the output of automotive-grade Semiconductor chips. Obviously, plenty is still up in the air right now, but hopefully, the worst of the auto industry’s semiconductor shortage is for the rearview mirror.
Final words from our AUTO PARTS EXPERTS:
The Mexican Automobile Industry Association (AMIA) says the Mexican auto industry is also facing a chip shortage/ semiconductor shortage crisis as are its global counterparts. According to several surveys, this deficit is likely to return to normalize within this year, with chip supplies returning to pre-pandemic state within the second half of 2022. NEWS ON semiconductor shortage: Must come on Tuesday. “We expect the semiconductor deficit to stabilize this year and return to pre-pandemic levels within the second half of this year as stated by AMIA chief Fausto Cuevas for a news release last month.
Mexico’s auto production and exports fell as of January 2021, official data showed last month sales are falling for a the seventh month as the Covid-19 pandemic and semiconductor shortage/chip shortage had hit the industry. Restoring more general-purpose semiconductor supplies will allow Mexican automakers to decrease the semiconductor shortage. In our opinion, automakers tend to return to their previous level of power as long as there is a semiconductor shortage and lack of chip supplier present.
Semiconductor shortage NEWS: Auto production fell by at least 2-5% in 2021 when compared to 2020, the fourth year in a row, as semiconductor deficits in recent months have prompted automakers to stop and reduce rolling throughout the world. Semiconductor shortage report from AMIA previously predicted that production would not return to pre-pandemic levels before 2023 or by the end of 2024.
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