Despite facing various regulatory restrictions from the US, the Chinese IC industry has not changed its goal of achieving semiconductor autonomy. In terms of IC design, many Chinese companies are gradually shifting their focus to applications with less risk of sanctions, including widely-used AIoT chips and automotive ICs, with power semiconductors, in particular, attracting the influx of more and more government and private resources for development.
China has already established a leading position in power batteries for electrical vehicles, but still relies heavily on foreign suppliers for diverse automotive chips. This is because IDMs in the US and Europe have accumulated extensive experience in the area over many years, and the threshold for automotive power semiconductor technology is even higher.
According to insiders in the Chinese semiconductor industry, China's self-sufficiency rate is now only around 10%, indicating that there is still great room for improvement in this chip segment.
The insiders said China has compelling reasons to develop automotive power semiconductors. Leaving aside its official IC development policies, the mere fact that China aims to completely replace internal combustion vehicles will generate great demand for car-use power semiconductor devices, and even though the supply and demand of automotive chips are gradually balanced, the risk of sudden shortages in the future should also be considered, they reasoned.
In recent years, European and US IDMs and IC designers have gradually scaled down their operations in China in response to growing geopolitical risks. This downsizing is particularly evident on the R&D side, with many of them almost dismantling their R&D teams in China, industry sources noted. To counter, it is essential for Chinese government and companies to provide more resources for relevant talent to continue contributions to the semiconductor industry and prevent a complete halt in technological progress, the sources continued.
In addition to power semiconductors, many other automotive chip solutions also have significant room for development in China and even have a chance to achieve import substitution in the short term. For instance, the sources remarked, smart cockpit solutions such as infotainment and in-vehicle sensing systems can be directly extended from the existing AIoT domain.
Especially in the field of sensing technology, Chinese IC designers have significant expertise and thus can more easily achieve sufficient self-supply, sources said, adding that HPC chips also play a crucial role in key functions such as ADAS (advanced driver assistance) systems and more advanced autonomous driving.
Usually, HPC chips used in automobiles have lower spec requirements than those for AI computing, and their related wafer foundry and backend packaging and testing do not necessarily require advanced processes, thus sidestepping potential risks of trade sanctions from the US and its allies. This is expected to attract more Chinese IC designers to invest car-use HPC chips, the sources indicated.
Article translated by Willis Ke
