Stellantis and Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn have announced the creation of SiliconAuto to supply the car industry with semiconductors from 2026.
The 50:50 joint venture will provide an “auto-industry-centric” source of the chips to car makers, said the two firms.
SiliconAuto will support the increase in semiconductor demand brought by the fast-moving world of electric vehicles and connected cars.
The joint statement by Foxconn and Stellantis referenced the latter's STLA Brain electrical and digital architecture as an example of the new technologies set to drive automotive demand for chips in the coming years.
Stellantis chief technology officer Ned Curic said: “Stellantis will benefit from a robust supply of essential components, which is critical to fueling the rapid, software-defined transformation of our products.
“Our goal is to build vehicles that seamlessly connect with our customers’ daily lives and deliver class-leading capabilities years after they leave the assembly line.
"With this joint venture, we can create purpose-built innovations with an efficient partnership.”
Foxconn chief product officer Jerry Hsiao added: “The collaborative energy will propel our customers to become more competitive.”
It's likely that SiliconAuto is also a response to the years of supply-chain disruption wrought by the Covid pandemic, potentially targeting increased resilience of supply as well as outright volume.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said at last October’s Paris motor show that “the situation is getting better” but “we have a limited number of suppliers who are troublemakers – let’s say two or three – and we're trying to push those suppliers to improve”.
“By the end of 2023, the problem will be over,” said Tavares.
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