This file photo provided by Hyundai Motor shows an employee working at an assembly line of the carmaker’s No. 2 plant in Ulsan.
SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean carmakers are facing a crisis as the global automaking industry is being hit by a shortage of semiconductors.
Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. are checking the stocks of semiconductors each week, adjusting manufacturing plans to prioritize the production of cars with ample stock of automotive semiconductors.
The two companies are negotiating with Bosch GmbH, Continental AG, Hyundai Mobis Co. and other parts manufacturers to secure a supply of semiconductors.
In response to the recent supply crisis, GM Korea Co. slowed down production of the Chevrolet Malibu and Trax at the company’s Bupyeong Plant on February 8.
A single car normally requires hundreds of automotive semiconductors.
They are relatively less lucrative to produce than other semiconductors, while demand for reliability and safety is high, making it a difficult hurdle for new businesses to enter the market.
Their supply in the short term, therefore, is not expected to grow significantly.
In addition, considering that it takes 26 to 38 weeks for a car’s micro-control units – used for electricity control in cars – to be ordered, manufactured, and delivered, the global supply shortage of these semiconductors is expected to continue until the third quarter of this year.
As power outages in the U.S. on an unprecedented scale have led to a shutdown of assembly lines operated by NXP Semiconductors N.V., Infineon Technologies AG and other major producers of automotive semiconductors, the global supply crisis is expected to worsen.
In response to the recent turn of events, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association requested that the government ask Taiwan, another major producer of automotive semiconductors, to increase production in order to protect South Korean carmakers from the global crisis.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
