Who is responsible for the automobile industry suffering from a shortage of semiconductors?
The impact on the automobile industry is particularly severe as the global semiconductor shortage continues, and
Why The Chip Shortage Is So Complex According To Experts
https://jalopnik.com/i-asked-experts-why-carmakers-cant-just-transition-to-n-1847739665
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who attended the Motor Show in Germany in September 2021, reportedly said, 'If automakers want, we will supply as many new 16nm chips as we can.' That thing. However, it seems that automobile manufacturers are flooded with orders for semiconductors with old designs that were the latest when the first iPhone was released.
'New production of old semiconductors makes no sense economically or strategically,' said Gelsinger. 'Rather than spending a fortune on old factories, invest in the move to the latest factories.' Called on the automobile industry to adopt a newly designed semiconductor.
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However, it seems that the situation is different between smartphones, which only require restarting the terminal even if the OS crashes, and automobiles, which can cause life-threatening accidents once a problem occurs. When Jalopnik asked several experts familiar with the automobile industry about the situation, the following answers were obtained.
◆ IEEE
According to Thomas Kofflin of the IEEE , an academic research organization in the field of electrical and information engineering in the United States, 'Cars have a longer operating life than many other consumer devices, so people can ride a car for 10 years. However, most equipment will become obsolete in five years. Due to these circumstances, automobile parts, including semiconductors, are made with proven old technology rather than the latest technology. There are many. '
According to Mr. Kofflin, chips with a 45-90nm process, which are many times larger than chips for general home appliances, are used to open and close automobile windows and control air conditioners.For example, considering that the A15 Bionic chip used in the iPhone 13 series released in September 2021 is manufactured by the 5nm process, we can see how big the scale of the automobile chip is.
However, semiconductor manufacturers tend to prioritize investing in smaller chips over larger ones. This is because chips are manufactured by cutting out from a plate called a wafer , so smaller chips can be made from a single wafer in a larger number and can be supplied in a stable manner.
From this point of view, Mr. Kofflin said, 'The current situation is that the equipment for manufacturing old and large chips will be renewed, or at least not new. Overall, it is more of a semiconductor manufacturer's argument than an automobile manufacturer. It seems more legitimate. '
◆ Industry magazine of the automobile industry
Jon M. Quigley, a columnist at Automotive Industries, an industry magazine for the auto industry, said that unilaterally imposing on automakers the situation on the part of semiconductor makers who want to produce the latest chips as small as possible is oversimplifying the problem. thinking about.
For example, in a development project that Mr. Quigley was previously involved in, although he was also developing new chips in parallel, the production of chips was eventually discontinued due to the convenience of semiconductor manufacturers. As a result, the project was delayed for months and the cost of developing the product increased.
Based on this experience, Quigley said, 'Quality assurance of products involves the cost of human resources and equipment, and it may take a long time to test at an external research institute. Certification also takes time. Of course, if you use a new semiconductor, you will have to redo the test, so unless there is a merit that is worth the cost, changing the semiconductor is not realistic. '
◆ Design and test software development company
Judy Carlan, head of the automotive division at Ansys, a developer of simulation software for engineers, responded to a question about the conflict between automakers and semiconductor makers. We should invest in new technologies. With the development of electrification and driving support systems, automobiles will eventually become unsuitable with old semiconductors. '
In fact, there is a movement in the automobile industry to combine the functions of chips mounted in various parts of the car body into one high-performance chip. However, Carlan believes that it will take time for automakers to adapt to smaller, higher-performance chips due to design difficulties and high costs.
In light of these experts, Jalopnik said, 'Over time, it seems natural to switch to new technologies, but the status quo will not be resolved immediately, so consumers and It doesn't seem to be a problem if someone from an automobile manufacturer or a semiconductor manufacturer says it's bad. '
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