KATHMANDU: Rising demand for chips used in AI data centers is putting pressure on the automotive supply chain, as manufacturers shift production capacity towards AI-related products.
Dutch chipmaker Nexperia’s interim CEO Stefan Tilger said the company was facing more demand than it could meet, as suppliers moved manufacturing capacity away from conventional semiconductors used in vehicles and industrial equipment.
Speaking to Reuters at the Electronica trade fair in Munich on Tuesday, Tilger said the automotive industry was already facing significant supply challenges due to the shift.
STMicroelectronics CEO Jean-Marc Chery also warned that chip foundries and packaging companies were moving resources away from automotive and industrial products to meet growing demand from the AI sector.
“We see many bottlenecks,” Chery said during a conference in Munich on Monday.
The growing investment in AI data centers and robotics has encouraged semiconductor manufacturers to focus on products with higher demand and better returns. This has reduced available production capacity for basic chips used in vehicles.
Nexperia mainly produces high-volume, low-cost semiconductors, including diodes and transistors, which are widely used in vehicles and industrial equipment. Tilger said investment in manufacturing these conventional components had remained limited for years.
Chery said STMicroelectronics’ own manufacturing facilities and continued investment in production capacity would help the company manage some of the supply challenges.
The shift highlights how the rapid growth of the AI industry could affect other sectors, including automotive manufacturing, which depends on a steady supply of semiconductors for various vehicle systems.
