Investments in fabs should increase for chip market to normalise: Bosch
The Hindu
The global semiconductor supply situation has eased a bit in the recent months, but the overall market will continue to remain tight until more investments are made in fabs to manufacture semiconductors, said Guruprasad Mudlapur, newly-appointed Managing Director, Bosch Ltd. and President, Bosch Group here on Tuesday.
The global semiconductor supply situation has eased a bit in the recent months, but the overall market will continue to remain tight until more investments are made in fabs to manufacture semiconductors, said Guruprasad Mudlapur, newly-appointed Managing Director, Bosch Ltd. and President, Bosch Group here on Tuesday.
According to him, premiumisation of cars, a trend that is rapidly catching up in India, is becoming strong which means far more electronic content such as sensors and Electronic Control Units (ECUs) are coming into more cars/automobiles.
He said rising income and an increased focus on value-driven factors were driving growth in the categories of scooters, premium motorcycles and SUVs in the country. Consequently, IC requirements for two-wheeler and three-wheeler sectors have also gone up.
“A weakening of demand due to the global economic crisis has helped better distribution of semiconductor supplies across the world.” Mr. Mudlapur said. “However, given the emerging demand from the automotive segment, we are not out of the woods as the situation still remains tight. We have to see a lot of investments in fabs to make semiconductor chips,” he cautioned.
Reflecting on this trend, he said, Bosch’s two-wheeler business in the June 2023 quarter experienced a remarkable sales recovery, recording a growth of 42.8% compared to the sequential quarter.
On the company’s outlook for fiscal 2023-24, Mr. Mudlapur said Bosch was poised to embrace several transformative changes which included its increased focus on cleaner fuels, green hydrogen and electrification to achieve a climate-neutral future.
The CXO further said Bosch would showcase the BS6 stage 2 hydrogen engine truck by early 2024 in India. “This is also exemplified by the successful launch of our first hydrogen-powered demonstrator vehicle in the country in June 2023 which comes after the announcement about the launch of pilot hydrogen engine testing infrastructure in Bengaluru last year,’‘ he added.
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