The South Korean government is advancing its research and development support for automotive semiconductors, which are seen as a new growth area in the automotive market. As budget preparations begin, a clearer outline is expected to emerge by early next year. Domestic automotive parts manufacturers, including Hyundai Mobis, are also ramping up efforts to localize automotive semiconductors, which have faced delays.
According to the automotive industry on October 14, the government has started organizing a national project for automotive semiconductor research and development. Plans are being prepared to align with the national research and development project announcement in the first half of next year, with the goal of launching the project in the second half.
This initiative is viewed as a follow-up to the 'M.AX Alliance' project announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy last month, aimed at building an ecosystem for the automotive semiconductor industry. Currently, domestic automotive companies, including Hyundai Mobis and KG Mobility, along with local semiconductor design firms, are participating in this project to develop automotive semiconductors necessary for software-defined vehicles (SDVs).
A government official stated, "The M.AX Alliance was established to promote collaboration among companies, and we will finalize the automotive semiconductor research and development project plan in line with the government announcement in March next year."
The government's push to foster the automotive semiconductor industry stems from the need to stabilize the supply chain of critical components that are heavily reliant on foreign sources and to enhance the technological competitiveness of domestic companies. As the adoption of electric vehicles and the development of software-defined vehicles increase, the importance of automotive semiconductors is growing, yet the localization rate remains around 5%.
There is a high dependency on foreign companies for key components such as microcontrollers (MCUs) for vehicle control, power semiconductors for electric vehicles, and system semiconductors for autonomous driving. Last year, tensions between the Netherlands and China led to restrictions on exports of products from Nexpeiria, a global automotive general-purpose semiconductor company, causing production disruptions for global automakers.
In response, the automotive industry, including Hyundai Mobis, is accelerating the in-house development of automotive semiconductor technology. The company is focusing on securing its own design capabilities for power and system semiconductors. This year, it has secured key patents related to next-generation silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors and is speeding up the establishment of mass production capabilities. The goal is to produce 20 million units annually of 16 types of self-developed semiconductors in collaboration with domestic semiconductor companies, aiming to increase the localization rate to over 10% by 2030.
At the upcoming AutoSemicon Korea (ASK) on October 21, the localization of automotive semiconductors and technology collaboration are expected to be major topics. Major automakers, including Hyundai Motor, are set to attend, where discussions will likely focus on semiconductor development directions and supply chain cooperation to respond to advancements in electrification and autonomous driving technologies.
Experts assess that automotive semiconductors have high growth potential, not only for electric vehicles but also for autonomous vehicles, robotics, and urban air mobility (UAM). They emphasize the need to secure independent technologies, particularly in high-value non-memory semiconductors.
Kim Pil-soo, a professor at Daelim University’s Department of Future Automotive Engineering, stated, "Hyundai Mobis independently designing automotive semiconductors is significant in terms of technological independence. We must quickly secure unique hardware technologies, such as high-value system semiconductors, to establish Korea's distinctiveness."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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