01. Toshiba is expected to expand the production capacity of automobile power chips

Toshiba Electronics and Storage Co., Ltd. recently revealed that it plans to build a new automobile power semiconductor production line at its existing Jilu semiconductor manufacturing plant in Hyogo, western Japan. The construction of the new plant will start in June 2024 and is planned to be put into operation in the spring of 2025. The project will more than double the vehicle power semiconductor capacity of Toshiba Jilu factory compared with that of the 2022 fiscal year.

Power devices are important components for managing and reducing power consumption and saving energy in various electronic devices. Most importantly, with the development of automobile electrification and industrial equipment automation, compared with all other products, the market demand of Toshiba's key technology, low-voltage MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) is expected to continue to grow. Toshiba has decided to meet this growth demand by building new back-end production facilities.

02. Qualcomm has made rapid progress in automotive chip solutions

Qualcomm has made rapid progress in automotive chip solutions, and its main competitor, Mediatech, is increasingly difficult to catch up. At the recently concluded MWC2023, the American chip manufacturer released its latest 5G modem and RF platform for cars. It is expected to be commercially available later in 2023.

It is reported that compared with the previous generation, the processing capacity of the 5G modem and RF platform of the second generation of Snapdragon has been improved by more than 50%, energy efficiency has been improved by 40%, and the maximum throughput has been increased by more than twice. It has high performance processing capacity and network capacity up to 200MHz, equipped with the latest 5G technology upgrade, support for satellite communications, etc.

The latest generation of Snapdragon 5G modem and RF platform uses multi-core CPU, integrated with quad-core CPU and aggregate network bandwidth up to 200MHz. It supports applications to run directly on the modem, and uses management programs to support isolation of workload, thus achieving seamless connection and energy efficiency performance. Integrated cellular Internet of Vehicles (C-V2X) technology supports direct-connected communication and enhances short-range security and travel services.

03. Japanese automakers suspended production due to parts shortage

On February 28, 2023, according to the Nikkei report, Honda said that due to the shortage of automobile semiconductors, the impact of the epidemic and the logistics delay, it is expected that the output of its Yori factory in Saitama County in March will be reduced by 10% compared with the plan.

According to the report, the production of the above-mentioned factories has been reduced by 10% in February. In addition, Honda Suzuki Factory also reduced production by 10% in February and will resume production capacity in early March.

In addition to Honda, Toyota also plans to suspend some of the production lines of the Honcho factory in March. In addition, Suzuki Motors said recently that it would suspend the operation of Kosai and Sagara plants in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, due to supply problems such as semiconductors.

The Nikkei pointed out that the number of semiconductors required for each car is increasing as the automobile manufacturers expand production, which has boosted the demand for chips in the automobile industry. The supply of power semiconductors for current control and analog semiconductors for power management will remain tight in 2023.

04. NXP increases the output of S32R41 high-performance radar processor

On February 28, 2023, NXP Semiconductor announced the latest member of the scalable S32R radar processor family and put it into production. High-performance S32R41 is customized to meet more stringent processing requirements to support L2+autopilot and Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) solutions, which is the core of creating high-resolution corner and front long-range radar.

The S32R41 radar processor (MPU) meets the requirements of advanced 77GHz radar applications. The architecture uses ARM Cortex-A53 and Cortex-M7 cores, combined with special radar processing accelerators, to create an excellent radar processing chain. It is designed for automotive, industrial and consumer radar applications.

05. Reza and Tata Group jointly develop next-generation semiconductor solutions

On March 3, 2023, Ruisa Electronics announced that it would open a joint innovation center with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of the world's largest IT service companies, in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and would focus on RF, digital mixed signal design and software development of innovative next-generation semiconductor solutions.

The innovation center will combine TCS's deep expertise in the field of the Internet of Things and the domain knowledge of manufacturing, telecommunications and automotive industries, as well as the advanced semiconductor design and skilled embedded software support of Reza. By working together and taking advantage of their comprehensive advantages, the partners intend to launch innovative semiconductor design and software solutions for the Internet of Things, smart cities, industry and automotive fields.

06. Infineon's acquisition of GaN Systems WBG products is still a "play"

Following the shocking news that Tesla, the leader of electric vehicle (EV), recently announced that the new platform intends to reduce the use of 75% silicon carbide (SiC) power components, the power semiconductor industry has raised another wave. Infineon, the "big brother" of power semiconductor IDM for vehicles, announced on the 3rd that it will spend US $830 million to acquire GaN Systems to strengthen GaN combat power.

Infineon said that through this merger and acquisition, Infineon will consolidate its leading position in silicon based semiconductors and wide band gap semiconductors (WBG) of silicon carbide and gallium nitride. The two companies have signed a final agreement. Infineon will purchase GaN Systems at a price of US $830 million. The market's key applications will focus on mobile charging, data center power supply, residential solar inverter, electric vehicle, on-board charger (OBC) and other applications.

07. Tokyo Electronics: demand for chips will surge from next year

On March 1, 2023, according to Bloomberg, Tokyo Electronics, a Japanese chip manufacturing equipment manufacturer, said that despite inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, the semiconductor industry is expected to resume growth next year.

Toshiki Kawai, chief executive of Tokyo Electronics, said that long-term trends such as the development of autopilot and metauniverse would increase the demand for data storage and processing capabilities.

"By 2030, the amount of data that the world must process will increase by 10 times, and by 2040, it will increase by 100 times," Kawai said.