Manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) technology to produce its electronic control units (ECUs), as part of its foray into electric vehicle development.
In an online Next Forum held by the Hon Hai Research Institute (鴻海研究院) and industry group SEMI on Thursday, Chen Wei-ming (陳偉銘), head of Hon Hai’s semiconductor business group, said the company was using TSMC’s 40-nanometer process for ECU production.
Hon Hai is keen to produce ECUs, which are used to control one or more functions in a vehicle, tailored for its customers, Chen said.
Although Taiwanese firms command the highest market share of the upstream pure wafer foundry business, as well as the downstream integrated circuit packaging and testing services sector of the semiconductor industry, the automotive electronics segment represents a small portion of their sales, he said.
Chips used in automotive electronics make up only 3.3 percent of total sales for TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, he said.
Hon Hai, known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), is using TSMC’s technology in its ECU production platform to make lithium battery management chips and body control modules, Chen said.
Over the past few years, Hon Hai, a major supplier to Apple Inc, has made electric vehicles a central component of its efforts to expand beyond contract manufacturing, which it refers to as the “3 plus 3” initiative.
The name refers to three emerging industries — electric vehicles, robots and digital healthcare — that are being developed through artificial intelligence, semiconductors and communication technologies.
Chen said that semiconductors used in vehicle production previously made up no more than 1 percent of total production costs for automakers, but now contribute about US$489 to the production cost of one vehicle on average.
By 2025, that cost could rise to US$716, which presents a tremendous business opportunity for the semiconductor industry, he said.
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
Nintendo Co hopes to match the runaway success of the Switch when its leveled-up new console hits shelves on Thursday, with strong early sales expected despite the gadget’s high price. Featuring a bigger screen and more processing power, the Switch 2 is an upgrade to its predecessor, which has sold 152 million units since launching in 2017 — making it the third-best-selling video game console of all time. However, despite buzz among fans and robust demand for pre-orders, headwinds for Nintendo include uncertainty over US trade tariffs and whether enough people are willing to shell out. The Switch 2 “is priced relatively high”
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in artificial-intelligence (AI) chips, yesterday said that small-volume production of 3-nanometer (nm) chips for a key customer is on track to start by the end of this year, dismissing speculation about delays in producing advanced chips. As Alchip is transitioning from 7-nanometer and 5-nanometer process technology to 3 nanometers, investors and shareholders have been closely monitoring whether the company is navigating through such transition smoothly. “We are proceeding well in [building] this generation [of chips]. It appears to me that no revision will be required. We have achieved success in designing
RSS