According to the Korea Times, the shortage of chips has affected the world's major automakers, and the Korean auto industry is also deeply threatened by the domino effect caused by this. At present, major local automakers such as Hyundai, Kia and General Motors (Korea) have closed plants one after another.

It is reported that the suspension of production by car factories has affected the best-selling models in the market. Hyundai Motor will discontinue production of its flagship Grandeur and Sonata sedans on Monday, and GM Korea will also discontinue production of its Chevy Trailblazer.

Hyundai Motor suspended the production of the IONIQ 5 electric vehicle and Kona SUV at its Ulsan plant from April 7th to 14th due to a shortage of parts. During this period, it is expected to reduce production of 6,500 IONIQ5 and 6,000 Kona SUVs. In addition, the company's plant in Asan also suspended production for two days last week.

The market is concerned that the suspension of Hyundai Motor's Grandeur may seriously affect its profitability. Grandeur has been Hyundai's best-selling model for four consecutive years. Last year, the Korean market sold 145,000 vehicles.

In addition, General Motors Korea is one of the first local automakers to be affected by chip shortages. The company's TRAX capacity has been limited to 50% since February. Next week, General Motors will close two of its three factories in South Korea. Among them, GM's Incheon Plant No. 1 and Plant No. 2 will be closed from April 19 to 23, which is expected to cause a loss in sales of 4,800 Trailblazers and 1,200 Trax SUVs.

Lee Hang-gu, a researcher at the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, said: “Due to the shortage of automotive chips, Korean automakers are expected to produce less than 120,000 vehicles.”

The report pointed out that the South Korean government has been holding emergency meetings to promote the recovery of the “three major” industries including bio-health, future automobiles, and system semiconductors. However, the automotive OEM market has been facing a shortage of MCU supply, and industry observers believe that it is difficult for the government to provide assistance in this situation.

In the field of automotive electronic chips, MCU has a wide range of applications, covering body powertrain, body control, engine control unit, driving assistance, etc. Among all the semiconductor devices equipped in a car, MCU accounts for about 30%. On average, more than 70 MCU chips are used in each car. On a global scale, companies such as NXP, Renesas and Infineon have mastered related technologies, and 70% of MCU production is outsourced to TSMC.

An industry executive said: “The cost of the MCU is quite low, it will be difficult to achieve economies of scale, and the car-level standard MCU requires high safety, which will take many years.” Therefore, Samsung Electronics is not very satisfied. May initiate research and development of such products.