Jolted by the global chip shortage, auto makers are taking steps to gain greater access to chips, including by signing long-term purchase agreements with their suppliers and even dealing directly with foundries deeper in the supply chain.
自上个月以来，全球最大的合同芯片供应商之一和福特的半导体合作伙伴之一GlobalFoundries表示，它已与BMW和Inova半导体达成了最新交易。两家公司表示，新的“供应保证”协议每年保证宝马“数百万”筹码。
The chips covered by the deal will be used in ISELED lighting technology co-developed by BMW and based on chips from Inova, and it will be deployed for the first time in BMW’s iX electric car and other models in the future. Inova is a fabless semiconductor firm in Munich, Germany, where BMW has its headquarters. The company sells a wide range of chips, including LED driver ICs at the heart of ISELED systems.
Said Andreas Wendt, who is responsible for purchasing and supplier relationships at BMW: "This improves planning reliability and transparency around the volumes needed for everyone involved and secures our needs for the long term."
The global chip shortage has slammed into the sector this year, forcing Ford, GM, and virtually every major car manufacturer to pause production at some point. Lead times for many of the chips used in vehicles are rising to record levels—more than a year in many cases—frustrating car companies trying to replenish their inventories. Moreover, industry insiders say prices for microcontrollers (MCUs) and other chips are also up.
持续的芯片危机主要集中在微控制器（MCUS）和其他专用芯片上，例如电力管理IC和在成熟技术节点（例如28 nm及更高）上制造的驱动程序IC。此外，这些芯片是在使用200毫米硅晶片而不是较大300毫米格式的老化设备上制造的。
Gartner的半导体分析师Gaurav Gupta说：“汽车行业在较大的晶圆尺寸上保持较旧设备的资格也很伤害了它们，这一事实也伤害了它们。”
The sprawling supply chain used by the auto sector has to coordinate the delivery of up to 30,000 parts and up to 1,500 different chips from hundreds of suppliers to assemble even one vehicle. For the supply chain to work, all the components required to finish a vehicle have to get where and when they are needed. Even a slight delay in delivering a single component can make it impossible to assemble the final vehicle.
通常需要三到六个月的时间才能制造，包装，测试，然后向客户提供半导体。然后，再添加六个月的零件，以完成车辆的组装。
“In most cases, chipmakers are traditionally Tier 3 or Tier 4 suppliers to automakers, which means it usually takes a while until they adapt to the changes affecting automotive market demand," Gupta said.
汽车高管已经争先恐后地努力，以更好地处理其芯片用品，这是他们对知名度有限的全球供应链的关键部分。高管还试图与他们的芯片供应商更接近，这既是由全球组件短缺的驱动以及汽车需要更多芯片的前提，因为该行业投资于电动汽车和自动驾驶。
福特上个月表示，计划与Globalfoundries合作，以增加福特汽车中使用的芯片供应。这项交易还为共同研究和开发打开了几种不同类型的芯片，例如用于车载网络，自动驾驶和电池管理（BMS）系统的组件。
通用汽车宣布与Wolfspeed达成一项长期购买协议，该协议为硅碳化物芯片，该芯片位于其Ultium Electric Vehicle平台中综合电力电子设备的核心。
Semiconductor firms have started favoring customers that share long-term forecasts about the chips they will need in the future. That helps companies with capacity planning and when it comes to reserving capacity ahead of time at their foundries.
“With this agreement directly with an OEM, we are certainly entering new territory as a semiconductor company,” Inova CEO and founder Robert Kraus said in a statement. "That is a real win-win situation."
The agreement with GlobalFoundries is intended to guarantee long-term chip supplies for BMW, which has been hurt by the same procurement challenges that have plagued the sector for months. BMW has said the iX should go on sale in early 2022.
Auto Chips在GlobalFoundries的优先列表中很高，该筹码去年将其总部转移到了纽约州北部最先进的工厂的地点。“ GF致力于与汽车行业建立更牢固的关系，以实现创新并满足对功能丰富的筹码需求的不断增长，” GoblinFoundries工业和汽车业务部高级副总裁Mike Hogan说。
Globalfouldrieshas previously said that it would at least double its output of chips to the automotive sector by the end of 2021.
