apple iPhone supplier FoxconnHon Hai said its semiconductor strategy is to focus on producing “specialty chips” rather than competing for cutting-edge chips.
“We are not chasing the most advanced technology. Hon Hai will not compete with leading manufacturers such as 4 nanometer or 3 nanometer. We are more focused on professional technology.” Hon Hai Technology Group told CNBC’s Emily Tan on Tuesday.
Specialty chips are known as semiconductors in fields such as automobiles and the Internet of Things. Automotive chips are typically made using mature technology—28 nanometer or larger wafers.
The “nano” in the chip refers to the size of a single transistor on the chip. Smaller transistors make them more powerful and efficient, but also more challenging to develop.
Taiwanese like it British Semiconductor South Korea’s Samsung is fully committed to producing the most advanced 2nm and 3nm wafers. After starting production of 3-nanometer wafers in June last year, Samsung has stated that it will mass-produce 2-nanometer wafers in 2025.
“If we try to pursue 3 nanometer, 2 nanometer, we will be too late. The way we are working on it is trying to manage the supply chain. We call it expertise – it is not too late now. All,” Jiang explain.
Our strategy is to attack everyone.
Guan Chun
Chief Strategy Officer of Hon Hai Electric Vehicles
Hon Hai Technology Group is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronic products, responsible for assembling consumer products such as Apple’s iPhone. But in the past few years, the Taiwanese company has expanded into semiconductors and electric vehicles.
When it comes to electric vehicles, Jiang said the focus is on power components and silicon carbide wafers – increasingly the material of choice for EV manufacturers due to its higher efficiency at the higher voltages commonly seen in electric vehicles.
Foxconn first unveiled an electric vehicle prototype in 2021 made by Foxtron, a joint venture between Foxconn and Taiwanese automaker Yulon Motors.
Foxconn currently only produces a small number of electric vehicles, but its initial goal is to capture 5% of the global market share by 2025 Reuters.
“When we talk about the electric vehicle business, we have the parts business. We have the platform business. We have the CDM business: contract, design and manufacturing services,” Jun Seki, chief strategy officer of Hon Hai Electric Vehicles, told CNBC in a separate interview. in.
“Our strategy is an all-out attack. The parts module platform makes our costs very competitive. This is an area where profitability for traditional automotive OEMs is very poor.” He was referring to OEMs that are about to Sold as parts to other companies.
We have a little bit of everything. There’s a good reason for this. If you do a little bit of everything, you’ll know what’s going on in that area.
Chiang Shang-Yi
Semiconductor Chief Strategy Officer
“Sometimes we may have to build their cars based on their drawings. If our customers can give us a chance to incorporate our ideas into their cars, then we can make our customers more competitive,” Jun Jun explain.
However, competition in the global electric vehicle market will only become more intense.
China, Europe and the United States are the major players in electric vehicles. From the third quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of this year, the top three players— Tesla, BYD and Volkswagen – hold Accounting for 42% of the global electric vehicle marketAccording to Counterpoint Research.
Entering the chip field is difficult
Foxconn’s push into semiconductors has gotten off to a rocky start, showing how difficult it is for new players to break into a market dominated by companies with deep experience and highly complex supply chains.
Earlier this year, Foxconn The company exited a joint venture with Indian metals and oil group Vedanta as part of a deal worth $19.5 billion to set up semiconductor and display production plants in India.
“You call it a failure, but I don’t think it’s finalized yet. I think we’ve learned by how we explain it, how we work with the government. So far, the government hasn’t made a decision. So I don’t would call it a failure. We are still trying to work with the government to find ways to get the government to support our proposal,” Hon Hai Group CEO and Chairman Liu Yang told CNBC.
“We have been working with countries like India, Indonesia and Thailand. They are all going well,” the CEO said.Foxconn is exploring cooperation Indonesia and Thailand Electric vehicle related companies.
He added that Hon Hai is “very focused on the entire supply chain.” “There’s a good reason for that.”
“If you do a little bit of everything, you know what’s going on in that area. As we all know, two years ago, there was a huge chip shortage and many cars couldn’t be shipped because they lacked chips. Mr. Congressman , this case the sea will have a better idea because we will know what happened. And it will give us more preparation time to try to manage them,” Jiang said.
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