Taiwan Business TOPICS
Semiconductor and automotive chips updates
The global supply shortage of automotive chips has forced German automakers Volkswagen and Audi to halt production, prompting the German Economics Minister to look to Taiwan for help. Taiwan’s Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua and leading chip manufacturers such as TSMC, UMC, and PSMC reached a consensus after a meeting to prioritize efforts addressing automotive chip shortages in hopes of minimizing the impact on the industry.
Wang explained that the current global shortage stemmed from last year’s drop in chip orders. At that time, Taiwanese chip manufacturers had cautioned their clients against cutting orders in view of the high demand for remote electronic devices spurred by the pandemic. The surging demand for electronic devices and 5G microchips is straining Taiwanese chip manufacturers’ assembly lines, leaving the automobile industry in crisis.