Automakers hunt high and low for chips as supply crisis worsens

reuters.com

6 pointsdjoldman4 comments

Which chips specifically are we talking about? Nexperia's products page looks like it's mostly basic semiconductors and standard logic ICs, all of which are available from several manufacturers. Sure, they might have to modify the PCB layout if the pinouts are different, but that doesn't seem like a major hurdle.

https://www.nexperia.com/products

Respinning a PCB can be a bigger deal than you'd think, if regulatory certification is required. In the EU automotive sector, I'd guess it is.

It appears that the industry learned exactly nothing from the COVID shortages.

> It appears that the industry learned exactly nothing from the COVID shortages.

To be clear, automakers during pandemic canceled all their chip orders, then after the wafer slots were reallocated, proceeded to uncancel all their orders leading to even more chaos in the industry. I think that this point, fabs should stop giving the auto industry any preferential treatment.

They brought this on themselves.

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