As for the Yulon Group, it is leading the "IA Project" with funding from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Announced in March last year, the project intends to combine forces from both the auto and electronics sectors to develop new cars and related components.
Electronics firms reported to have expressed interest in participating include Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), Compal Computer Inc (仁寶電腦), Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) and Everlight Electronics Corp (億光電子).
Hon Hai is the nation's largest electronics company by sales and is also supplying game consoles and mobile phones to customers such as Sony Corp and Motorola Inc. Asustek is the world's largest motherboard maker and is also producing personal computers for Sony and Apple Computer Inc. Quanta is the world's biggest notebook computer maker, followed by Compal. Delta Electronics is the world's biggest maker of power-supply systems for electronic products with customers such as Dell Inc. Everlight is a maker of light-emitting diodes (LED) and is one of a few domestic companies capable of producing white LED products.
However, to make Taiwan a key part of the world's auto electronics supply chain, local firms ought to locate their own core strengths and develop solutions from those strengths, said Topology's Cheng.
Taiwan stands a good chance of developing auto electronics as it leads in global production of chip design, flat-panel displays, semiconductors and LED screens, he said.
Of these advantages, starting off with semiconductors might be a good idea, he said.
"The well-developed semiconductor supply chain is why Taiwan is a global leader in consumer electronics manufacturing. Vendors should therefore focus on this area to increase added value," he said.
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