Automotive chip giant Infineon has been exposed to product defects that may cause Hyundai to delay deliveries. on July 4, the Korea Economic Daily reported that the likelihood of disruptions to Hyundai’s IONIQ5 production from this month has increased due to a large number of defective products in the power module chips (IGBT) supplied by Infineon to Hyundai in South Korea.
According to reports, Infineon recently confirmed that from the beginning of April to the beginning of June production of power module chips appear bad, the specific reason is to replace the existing nitrogen ions and the injection of the latest process of aluminum ions in the process of the bad phenomenon.
According to the original plan, the chips produced by Infineon in early April should have been supplied to Hyundai from mid-August, but they could not be supplied properly because they were all abandoned. The supply disruption is expected to last until at least mid-October, considering that all products as of early June were in bad condition, the Korean media said.
Hyundai is in discussions with Infineon and other global in-vehicle semiconductor suppliers to find a solution for IONIQ 5 without production disruptions. However, the industry predicts that it will be difficult for Infineon to significantly shorten the supply schedule.
Infineon Korea sources said the company is concerned that the global semiconductor supply shortage will intensify in the short term and is doing its best to meet the minimum demand.
Infineon supplies semiconductor chips (IGBT) and power modules with the chips to Hyundai Mobis. Hyundai Mobis uses the modules to assemble PE (power electrical) systems to make PE modules that will be supplied to Hyundai Motor. The PE module will be installed in the IONIQ 5.
If production is interrupted, the IONIQ 5 will have a longer wait time to be shipped. For the IONIQ 5 model, the wait will be more than 1 year even for this month’s contract. IONIQ 5 is currently one of Hyundai’s most popular pure electric models, with pre-sales exceeding 23,000 units on the first day of pre-sale in February 2021, according to Yonhap News Agency, the largest pre-purchase record for a Korean car.
IGBT is the core component of electric vehicles, and the role of the power module with this chip is to convert the direct current power (DC) stored in the battery to alternating current (AC) power to supply the drive motor. It takes three months to produce the semiconductor chip alone, and a month to make the module again. In other words, it takes 4 months from putting in the wafer to producing the finished product.
Infineon is the world’s largest automotive chip supplier, benefiting from the global shortage of cores and the wave of new energy vehicle development, Infineon’s performance also maintains a rapid growth. Infineon FY2022 second-quarter results, achieving revenue of 3.298 billion euros, up 22% year-on-year, and net profit of 469 million euros. Infineon expects third-quarter revenue of about 3.4 billion euros and its profit margin is expected to be around 21%. Full-year revenue is 13-14 billion euros, with margins remaining at around 22%.
