Although many Taiwan-based IC design houses have joined Foxconn Technology's MIH platform to tap the global automotive chip market, it remains to be seen when efforts initiated by those IC makers could start bearing fruits, according to industry sources.

Given that the validation process of automotive chip solutions is rather lengthy, the yield rate requirements are strict, and the production capacity is considered more critical than pricing, the chance may not be high for Taiwan's IC provider to easily win related chip orders, said the sources.

Among them, MediaTek has launched its in-house developed Autus platform to cater to the global automotive chip market; Realtek Semiconductor has entered first-tier automakers' supply chains thanks to its enhanced deployments in Ethernet network chips.

Others, including Novatek Microelectronics and Himax Technology, may secure some orders for LCD driver ICs and TDDI chips, the sources indicated.

However, the on-going global shortages of automotive chips triggered by the pandemic-induced impacts, which is likely to persist into the second half of 2021, offer ample room for Taiwanese chipmakers to cash in on the global automotive solution market, the sources commented.

By DIGITIMES