On February 10, GM announced on Thursday that it had signed a long-term chip supply agreement with chip maker Microchip, according to a local media report.
The agreement is the first of its kind because automakers have had little direct contact with chip suppliers before, Ge-core said.
Under the agreement, Microchip will produce chips for GM’s main chip supplier at its advanced semiconductor facility in upstate New York.
GM said it is a long-term agreement, but the company would not say how long it would last. The two companies also would not say how many wafers will be produced, nor would they release financial details.
In recent years, disruptions in the supply of components such as chips or semiconductors have caused problems for the auto manufacturing industry, leading to a reduction in the supply of new vehicles and higher prices for new cars, trucks and SUVs.
Thomas Caulfield, GM’s chief executive officer (CEO), said the direct partnership with Gecko will provide GM with a secure supply of chips and will help control costs.
In addition, GM said it is working to simplify the number of unique chips in its vehicles, but it is also securing the ability of suppliers to produce chips because the overall number of chips is expected to increase.
