Apple Inc. supplier chairman Foxconn said Saturday that it expects its company and clients to have only a “limited impact” from chip shortages that have impacted the global automotive and semiconductor industries.
“Since most of the messages we serve are large customers, they all have a careful, proper design,” said Liu Young-way, chairman of the manufacturing company known as formal Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd
“So the impact on these big messages is there, but limited,” he told reporters.
Liu said he expected the company to do well in the first half of 2021, “especially as the pandemic eases and demand continues to be maintained. ”
The global distribution of COVID-19 has increased demand for laptops, game consoles, and other electronics. This prompted chip manufacturers to redistribute capacity away from the automotive sector, which was expecting a steep decline.
Now, car manufacturers such as Volkswagen AG, General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co. have cut production due to declining chip capacity.
Counterpoint Research says the shortage has expanded into the smartphone sector, with application processors, display driver chips, and power management chips all facing an emergency.
However, the research firm claims that Apple will have very little influence, due to its size and the priority given to it by the suppliers. Apple is Foxconn’s largest customer.
Foxconn is looking at other areas for growth, including in electric vehicles (EVs), and Liu said their EV development platform now has 736 partner companies.
He expected two or three models to appear before the fourth quarter, although they did not expect EVs to make a significant contribution to companies’ earnings until 2023.
Liu also said the company was still looking for fab semiconductor purchase opportunities in Southeast Asia after failing to win a bid to take over Silterra, the 8-inch foundry based in Malaysia.