Specialist
Marketing director at Renesas Electronics Corp
Agenda
- Automotive adoption update for next-generation semiconductor materials such as GaN (gallium nitride) and SiC (silicon carbide)
- Semiconductor supplier pricing power and prioritisation with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) amid global chip shortage
- Silicon content per vehicle increases for level 3-4 AVs (autonomous vehicles) and EVs
Questions
1.
We left off our previous Interview [see Automotive Chip Procurement – Part 1 – Inventory Management Strategies Amid Global Chip Shortage – 14 January 2022] with adoption drivers for third-generation semiconductor materials in the automotive sector. What are the key incentives for such materials adoption across automotive applications?
2.
You mentioned materials costs would be higher for the new materials compared to silicon, but the system costs would be lower. Do you have a range for how much more expensive SiC [silicon carbide] or GaN [gallium nitride] would be than silicon?
3.
Would the system-level cost reduction be more than 10-15% now?
4.
How has the IC [integrated circuit] houses’ pricing power over the OEMs changed outside of the cyclical factors? Does pricing power still come more from the shortage we’re in rather than more fundamental relationship dynamic changes?
5.
Would increasing silicon content per vehicle be way more important to IC houses’ pricing power than the supplier base being more consolidated?
6.
You mentioned that OEMs seem a lot keener to have more direct relationships with the IC houses and foundries. How could the role of an IC house change in the next 3-5 years if this is so?
7.
What are your thoughts on the Ford partnership with GlobalFoundries? Are they largely in line with your overall comments?
8.
How are the semiconductor suppliers managing their OEM relationships? How do they decide on prioritisation given the supply-demand balance is in their favour and there are so many OEMs they can work with?
9.
Have contract structures changed between the tier 2 suppliers and the OEMs recently? Or would you say it’s just the volume has increased and the forecasts have become more long term?
10.
What can a tier 2 supplier do to win market share? Has any player stood out to you in how it’s capitalised on its opportunities?
11.
Does Qualcomm and Nvidia cutting into the automotive application necessarily mean they’re taking market share away from players such as Infineon and ON Semiconductor?
12.
You mentioned silicon content per vehicle reaching over USD 1,000, but before it was only USD 303.50. Out of this USD 1,000-plus, an average of around USD 200-300 will be ICs. How does the rest of the content value break down, particularly for a level 3 or level 4 AV [autonomous vehicle]?
13.
You said a level 3 or 4 AV would have around USD 2,000 of silicon content. USD 400-500 of this would be on power content and USD 600-700 would be on IC. Is the rest sensors?
14.
You mention IC-sensor fusion. Do you mean the sensors would need an IC companion?
15.
Does this USD 2,000 figure differ significantly depending on the car type? Does this increase a lot for an SUV?
16.
How many chips per car would the USD 2,000 figure translate to? Or does this differ too much depending on the OEM?
17.
Is there anything else you want to highlight or feel like we missed out on?
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