An industry giant’s forecast: when the semiconductor crisis would end

Infineon, one of the largest suppliers of semiconductors for cars, said when it expects the microchip crisis to end.

Semiconductor maker Infineon expects its core product shortfall to end next year, with the situation improving in the summer, an executive said.

“I assume we will be able to meet demand in 2023,” Peter Schiefer, head of Infineon’s automotive unit, told Automobile News Europe Automobilwoche. “The last issues will be resolved in 2023.”

To meet growing demand, Germany-based Infineon plans to expand its production capacity, including investment in its 1.6 billion-euro semiconductor plant in Villach, Austria, which opened last year. he said.

Semiconductor crisis

The global shortage of chips hit the car industry hard last year and halted vehicle production in various regions. Automakers, including Volkswagen and Stellantis, hope that supply chain problems will gradually ease this year, but warned that chip supply will remain tight in the first half of the year.

Toyota now expects to miss its global production target as the carmaker capitulates to a shortage of parts and a pandemic. The company has already lowered its production target for February, citing the deficit. The carmaker said the shortage of semiconductors will force it to reduce world production by 150,000 units in February to about 700,000 vehicles.

Hyundai Motor hopes that the semiconductor shortage affecting the global auto industry will be reduced in the next quarter and that its sales will return to pre-pandemic levels this year, according to Gang Executive Vice President Gang Hyun Seo.

This is while TSMC informed its biggest customers, including Nvidia and AMD, that it intends to increase the prices of their chips by up to 20%. Of course, this will be passed on to the consumer, which means more expensive products.