（Cover image source: Umberto）
On March 17th, Zhou Zixue, Chairman of the China Semiconductor Industry Association, stated in his opening speech at SEMICON CHINA 2021 that after China’s semiconductor sales skyrocketed by nearly 18% last year, the world is now experiencing an unprecedented shortage of chips!
In the automotive industry, this effect is particularly evident, with many factories even shutting down and waiting for production.
Ma Yilong previously stated that the shortage of semiconductor materials worldwide has caused delays in production schedules at the Fremont factory several times.
Volkswagen CEO Diess also stated that the chip shortage will result in the inability to produce 100,000 new Volkswagen cars.
Volvo will partially suspend or adjust its production plans in China and the United States in March due to the shortage of semiconductor chips.
Toyota and Honda also announced on Wednesday that North American factories will reduce production due to supply chain issues exacerbated by weather, the pandemic, and a shortage of chips.
Zhou Zixue believes that the pandemic has triggered a “home” economy, strengthening people’s demand for interconnectivity. Automakers are also transforming into the “new four modernizations”, innovating and introducing new models. However, due to the impact of the pandemic on chip production and the rise of trade protectionism, this gap has widened and even spread to the electronic consumer field with the sharp increase in demand for chips.
Zhou Zixue stated that the semiconductor industry is an international industry, and only by continuously strengthening the openness, cooperation, innovation and common development of the semiconductor industry can the current situation be effectively alleviated. Any approach that goes in a different direction is wrong.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.