A shortage of auto chips is wreaking havoc on global auto production capacity. Since the beginning of 2021, international well-known automobile companies such as Volkswagen, Toyota and GENERAL Motors have all reduced production on a large scale due to chip shortage. Among them, Toyota plans to temporarily suspend production of all 14 factories in Japan in October 2021, and reduce production of 330,000 vehicles worldwide during the same period, accounting for about 40% of the original planned output. The chip shortage will result in a global production cut of more than 7 million vehicles in 2021, according to Boston Consulting Group, while IHS Markit recently cut its 2021 global light vehicle production forecast by 6.2%, or more than 5 million units.
The crisis of "lack of core" has a profound impact on China's automobile industry. China has entered the stage of normal epidemic prevention and control, and the order of social production and life has been fully restored. However, under the influence of adverse factors such as chip shortage, China's automobile production has declined for 5 consecutive months and for 4 consecutive months year-on-year by August 2021, and production of some models has been halted. It seriously restricts the further upward breakthrough and market promotion of superior products of independent enterprises.
The "lack of core" crisis broke out mainly for three reasons:
First, the strong recovery of the global auto industry has led to increased chip demand. As the world's largest auto production and sales country, China's annual sales account for about 1/3 of the world's auto industry, the first recovery of China's auto industry has played a driving effect on the overall recovery of the global auto industry and market. Up to the outbreak of the "core shortage" crisis, China and Europe and other countries and regions of the auto industry recovery is better than expected, related auto companies in the face of the rapid recovery of the market have chosen to increase production, resulting in a sudden increase in chip demand. At the same time, the supporting chip upstream and downstream enterprises generally lack of preparation, resulting in a timely supply of chips.
Second, frequent "black Swan" events lead to a global chip supply shortage. Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia, is an important region for chip packaging and testing in the world. More than 50 major global chip companies, including Infineon and NXP, have factories in Malaysia. In 2021, the epidemic situation in Malaysia continued to worsen, with the outbreak of mass infection in several local chip factories, forcing the government to adopt strict lockdown measures and large-scale production suspension of chip factories, which had a serious impact on global chip supply. In March 2021, a fire broke out at Japan's Renesas Electronics' Nako chip plant, damaging the plant's unique 300mm semiconductor wafer production line, which is mainly used to produce automotive MCUS, further squeezing the limited global automotive scale chip capacity. In addition, the cold wave in Texas in the United States, the strike at the Stmicroelectronics plant in France and other events, further exacerbated the global chip shortage, especially the car chip.
Third, domestic chip technology, technology level is insufficient to effectively replace. The global market share of China's independent automotive chips is less than 5%, and they are concentrated in low-end and low value-added fields. Key technology levels and processes are difficult to support the global supply of automotive chip, and it is difficult to effectively solve the global "core shortage" crisis. Specifically, the most advanced semiconductor production line in China only has a 14-nanometer process, and it does not meet the requirements of car specification level. The car specification level chips in the production process below 40 nanometer need to be shipped to foreign countries, and the chip IP is highly dependent on foreign countries. In addition, the level gauge chip in areas such as manufacturing, assembly, test and reliability function security, information security, etc., the lack of independent, unified quality standard and the test evaluation system, and a lack of authoritative third-party certification industry platform, chip area of professional personnel training starts late, lead to domestic automobile enterprises, In particular, independent automobile enterprises have chosen foreign manufacturers with higher technology maturity and reliable basis for supporting, thus further losing momentum for development of independent automobile chip enterprises.
China should turn the crisis of "lack of core" into an opportunity for the development of its own chips, and accelerate the transformation and development of domestic chip industry while supporting and encouraging the resumption of production in key international chip supply regions through international negotiations and other means.
First of all, to vigorously improve the domestic chip key technology, technology level. Through advanced process technology, wafer manufacturing technology, photoresist auxiliary materials development bottleneck, priority to promote the domestic leading chip foundry enterprises strengthen the research and development of advanced technology, the formation of 40 nanometers car level gauge chip manufacturing process capability, optimizing the existing chips, semiconductor support foreign investment policy, attracting chips technology advantage enterprise joint venture in China, the deepening technical communication, Promote China to further integrate into the international chip industry chain.
Secondly, to promote the establishment of a unified standard system and third-party certification platform. Relying on the form of special scientific and technological research, the independent and unified chip testing and evaluation technology system and standard system of vehicle regulation level will be established. Build a national third-party certification laboratory in the field of automotive chips to provide a complete reliability testing platform for chip testing and evaluation. Relying on industry organizations and research institutions to carry out research on the convergence of domestic and foreign standards and chip standards, and achieve international mutual recognition of relevant standards and test and evaluation results.
At the same time, to promote the independent vehicle enterprises to give priority to the use of independent chips. Establish and improve relevant policies to encourage independent enterprises to give priority to the use of independent chips in a prudent and inclusive manner, give corresponding financial subsidies and tax incentives to enterprises that meet relevant conditions, formulate insurance policies matching the application of independent chips, and solve the worries of independent automobile enterprises in the application of domestic chips. Evaluate and summarize the implementation effect of industry standard policies in the early stage, and study and explore the "whitelist" system of autonomous vehicle chip classification.
In addition, we should constantly improve the level of professional talent training in the chip field. Encourage universities and scientific research institutes with conditions and foundation to set up integrated circuit specialty, and at the same time, cooperate with automobile enterprises and chip enterprises to set up chip specialty direction of vehicle regulation level, build school-enterprise joint training capacity, and jointly create "chip + automobile" interdisciplinary talents; The "Young Scientists" program and the "Young Science Fund" program have been set up in the field of integrated circuits to cultivate a reserve force of young people for technological breakthroughs.