Chinese carmakers have begun deploying resources in semiconductor development, as chip shortage continues to haunt the automotive industry.

Chinese carmakers still rely heavily on imports of car chips, but they are now moving to build their own local semiconductor supply chain.

Leap Motor and Dahua Technology have partnered up since 2018 to create AI autonomous driving chips for Leap's electric vehicles. As of February 2022, Leap has reported 11 consecutive months of over-200% year-on-year growth in car deliveries. For February, car deliveries increased by 447% on-year.

BYD has successfully expanded its expertise from carmaking to manufacturing of batteries, motors and control units - the three vital parts of an electric vehicle (EV). BYD Semiconductor, its spinoff unit, has been a supplier of XPeng and Yutong Bus.

NIO and XPeng have also aimed at semiconductor development.

Disrupted by the shortage of semiconductors, global car production has dropped sharply this year, according to AutoForecast Solutions.

However, the shortage of car chips is at present more pressing than localizing IC supply chain and improving self-sufficiency, said Wang Fengying, vice cairman at Great Wall Motors.

By DIGITIMES