The proliferation of electric vehicles and the resulting shortage of auto parts due to COVID-19 have led to a shortage of automotive semiconductors. Not only traditional automotive semiconductor companies, but also comprehensive semiconductor companies, foundries, and the home appliance industry are jumping into the automotive semiconductor business, and the race to dominate the automotive semiconductor market is intensifying.

On the 18th, Intel held an Investor Day and disclosed the key details of Intel Foundry Services. The issue that caught the attention of the industry that day was the plan to provide cutting-edge processes in the automotive sector.

Intel predicts that the automotive semiconductor market will double in size to $115 billion in 10 years, and its strategy is to dominate this market by providing cutting-edge technology.

Intel's announcement comes as the automotive business has rapidly grown in importance in the semiconductor industry.





According to Omdia's latest report, automotive semiconductor sales have already exceeded $50 billion in 2021, accounting for approximately 9% of the total semiconductor market.

It is also projected to maintain an annual growth rate of 12.3% until 2025.

Accordingly, it is analyzed that companies with automotive semiconductor portfolios will seize growth opportunities in the future semiconductor market.

Supporting this analysis, the automotive semiconductor industry has recently been experiencing fierce investment.

TSMC, the world's leading foundry, has announced plans to increase MCU production by 60% compared to 2020 and is pushing forward with the construction of a 1 trillion yen semiconductor plant in Japan. It also invested $12 billion in its Arizona plant in the United States.

South Korea's SK Hynix is expanding its business by acquiring 8-inch wafer foundry Key Foundry, and DB HiTek has begun research and development to produce next-generation power semiconductors with improved power efficiency.

Samsung Electronics has strengthened its portfolio of next-generation automotive system semiconductors, including communication chips, processors, and power management chips, and has also begun supplying next-generation automotive memory solutions to global automakers, initiating a full-scale attack on the automotive semiconductor market.





In particular, Samsung Electronics is constantly being rumored to be acquiring an automotive semiconductor company based on its massive cash reserves.

Traditional automotive semiconductor companies are also expanding and defending their market share through expansion and new investments in response to the dominance of semiconductor giants such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Intel, and TSMC in the automotive semiconductor market.

Infineon, the world's leading automotive semiconductor manufacturer, has invested approximately €1.6 billion in its Palach, Austria, plant to begin production of 12-inch wafer-based SiC semiconductors, and recently announced that it will invest over €2 billion in SiC and GaN products at its Kulim plant in Malaysia.





NXP is mass producing automotive semiconductors using TSMC's 16nm process and has increased its equipment investment from 5% to 7% of sales.

ST expanded capacity at its 12-inch fab in Crolles and Agrate, and its SiC fab in Catania. It also brought a new 8-inch fab into operation in Singapore.

TI also added a third 12-inch fab.

Renesas fully recovered from the fire damage at its Naka plant last year in June and has since expanded capacity through investments compared to before the fire. Furthermore, the company plans to invest 140 billion yen by 2023 to expand MCU production by 1.5 times.

Meanwhile, traditional electronics companies are also entering the automotive electronics semiconductor market in earnest.

Rumors of Apple entering the electric vehicle market are constantly circulating, and interest in the Apple Car is quite high.

LG Electronics, a leading traditional home appliance company, has also selected electric vehicle components as its future growth engine and forecasts that electric vehicle-related components will achieve steep sales growth of 50% annually through 2025.

Amidst these changes, the automotive semiconductor market is also expected to become more sophisticated amidst paradigm shifts in the automotive industry, including smart cars, autonomous driving, and OTA, and competition in technological prowess is expected to intensify in the future.

Accordingly, experts are closely watching the market, saying that the semiconductor automotive business will determine the success or failure of the semiconductor industry.