According to reports in the Indian media, India has decided to delay the implementation of import restrictions on electronic products such as laptops, tablets, and servers. This delay pushes the commencement date to November 2023. As a result, Taiwanese, American, and Chinese laptop manufacturers are now reevaluating their production strategies in India and expediting their applications for importing electronic goods.
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According to Taiwan media, UDN, an insider close to Xiaomi’s automotive venture, Xiaomi’s car project is currently in the trial production phase, which has been underway for less than a month. Currently, Xiaomi is producing approximately 50 prototype cars per week.

As reported by Interface News, trial production is one of the most crucial steps before mass production. It allows for testing the smooth operation of production line equipment, process integration, worker proficiency, and comprehensive product quality checks. If issues arise during the testing of the prototypes, they will be investigated and production lines will be fine-tuned accordingly. Conversely, if the prototypes perform well in testing, it demonstrates that the production lines are generally qualified for large-scale production.

A senior figure in the automotive industry stated that the trial production phase for a new car model typically takes around four months, with full production capacity being reached in six months to a year. However, these timelines may vary based on sales demand and production line adjustments.

Reuters reported that Xiaomi’s electric car production application has already received approval from China’s government, with the next step awaiting relevant approvals from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Insiders suggest that Xiaomi’s car project is expected to receive MIIT approval in the next two months, with the latest approval likely to be granted by year-end. Once approved, Xiaomi can commence mass production.

Currently, Xiaomi’s car factory in Beijing’s Yizhuang district is actively recruiting workers on a large scale, aiming to hire around 100 employees. The average salary is between 6,000 and 7,000 Chinese yuan per month, with an 8-hour workday and weekends off, allowing for flexible start dates.

A recruitment service provider for Xiaomi’s car factory revealed that the hiring criteria for permanent employees are stringent. Candidates without relevant experience have a slim chance of success, and even workers with previous experience at companies like Mercedes-Benz or Tesla may be eliminated due to insufficient interview preparation. The majority of positions have an age limit of under 28, with a minimum educational requirement of completing a vocational school or higher. Exceptional candidates may have some flexibility in these requirements.

The same supplier also mentioned that this recruitment phase is just the initial preparation for Xiaomi’s car project. Towards the end of the year or early next year, Xiaomi’s car factory will undergo a much larger-scale recruitment effort. During that time, the working hours and rest schedule at Xiaomi’s car factory may see corresponding adjustments.

Xiaomi Group’s President recently stated during a Q2 financial report meeting that Xiaomi’s automotive venture has just completed its summer testing, and progress has been exceptionally smooth. Xiaomi’s goal of commencing mass production in the first half of 2024 remains unchanged. As of now, the automotive project is progressing exceptionally well, surpassing initial expectations and plans.

(Source: https://money.udn.com/money/story/5603/7421576)

Global PCB market revenue will decline by 3.4% in 2023 due to low demand for consumer electronics, reaching around USD 80.5 billion, down from approximately USD 83.3 billion in 2022. However, the industry is expected to rebound, with a potential to reach USD 100 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 3.7% from 2022~2027, led by automotive PCBs of USD 9.2 billion accounting for the largest part in 2022, and will reach USD 15.6 billion in 2027. TrendForce research shows that China dominates PCB production with a 53% market share in 2023, followed by Taiwan at 13%, Korea at 10%, Japan at 9%, and SEA at 8%.

China’s rising labor costs, environmental regulations, and geopolitical tensions have led to a shift in the PCB supply chain outside of China. SEA, with its labor advantages and free trade benefits, has become a popular destination for PCB manufacturers. TrendForce says that Thailand currently accounts for 50% of the total PCB production value in SEA. Major Taiwanese manufacturers have established factories in Thailand to establish complete industry chains. With an average monthly salary level of $8,800, Thailand is well-positioned to become a key production base for the PCB industry in Southeast Asia.

SEA PCB Production Value to Follow China’s Closely in the Next 10 Years

SEA such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam have an average manufacturing labor cost of about half of that in China, but their production efficiency is still 20% lower than China’s. In addition, SEA is limited by a shortage of industry talents and incomplete supply chains, resulting in high procurement costs, especially for mid-to-high-level engineering and management personnel. Therefore, large-scale investment in the region is still unlikely at this stage. As the PCB industry chain relocation requires a long time due to its cluster effect, China is expected to remain the world’s largest PCB producer in the next 10 years, accounting for over 40% of the global PCB production value, while SEA is expected to become the 2^nd largest producer.

Taiwanese companies are leading the expansion of PCB factories in Southeast Asia.

Taiwanese PCB manufacturers have the highest market share at 34%, but only 38% of their production capacity is located in Taiwan, with the majority around 60% being concentrated in China. To follow the trend of supply chain relocation, 9 Taiwanese PCB manufacturers, including Elite Material, ITEQ, and CCL, plan to establish factories in Thailand, while Chinese manufacturers like Shenzhen Jove Enterprise, and China Eagle Electronic have all set up factories in Thailand. International ones like CMK and Kyoden have also set up factories in Thailand, while TTM, Simmtech, and AT&S focus on Malaysia, and Vector Fabrication has chosen Vietnam.

TV sales in China hit their peak in 2019, with 44.5 million units sold, but the market experienced a sharp decline in 2020. This was due to the previous marketing strategy of lowering prices to increase sales volume no longer being effective for small and medium-sized products. In response, brands shifted their focus to larger-sized products, specifically those with a screen size of 65 inches or above, which has accelerated the trend of larger TVs dominating the market.

Panel prices skyrocketed between 2020 and 2021, causing a significant price disparity for TV products during promotional events in China. In the 2021 618 promotion, 55-inch TV prices surged by 67% compared to the previous year, while 65-inch TVs increased by 50%, leading to a surge in demand for larger TV sizes. TVs with a screen size of 55 inches and above accounted for over 65% of the market share in China in 2021, and it is anticipated to reach 80% by 2022. With greater discounts, 65-inch TVs became the mainstream size in 2022, surpassing 55-inch TVs in sales volume and market share. The market share of smaller TVs (43 inches and below) fell from roughly 30% to 16%.

According to recent market research, the dominance of smart TVs has surged from 85% in 2016 to a staggering 98% in 2022. Additionally, the popularity of 4K TVs has risen rapidly, with an 80% market share in 2022, following their introduction in 2014. The shift towards these new TV standards has been fueled by ongoing price cuts in the retail sector and the growing demand for larger screen sizes.

The scale of promotions during China’s 618 and Double Eleven shopping festivals could be affected by the upward trend of larger screen sizes and the rise in panel prices in 2023. As a result, brands are expected to shift their promotional strategies towards larger TVs, particularly 75-inch and 85-inch models, which generate more revenue. Consequently, TV sales in China for this year are predicted to decline further by 1.7%, with an estimated sales volume of approximately 30 million units.v

As the global economy enters the post-pandemic era, technologies including 5G, WiFi6/6E, and HPC (high-performance computing) have been advancing rapidly, in turn bringing about a fundamental, structural change in the semiconductor industry as well, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. While the demand for certain devices such as notebook computers and TVs underwent a sharp uptick due to the onset of the stay-at-home economy, this demand will return to pre-pandemic levels once the pandemic has been brought under control as a result of the global vaccination drive.

Nevertheless, the worldwide shift to next-gen telecommunication standards has brought about a replacement demand for telecom and networking devices, and this demand will continue to propel the semiconductor industry, resulting in high capacity utilization rates across the major foundries. As certain foundries continue to expand their production capacities this year, TrendForce expects total foundry revenue to reach a historical high of US$94.6 billion this year, an 11% growth YoY.

TrendForce’s latest analysis also finds that shipments and production volumes of end products will continue to grow in the post-pandemic period. Regarding host computers, the total (or global) shipments of servers and workstations are forecasted to undergo a yearly growth mainly driven by applications that are enabled by 5G and HPC. As for various types of client (or end-user) devices, the annual total production volume of 5G smartphones, in particular, is forecasted to increase by around 113% YoY. The penetration rate of 5G models in the smartphone market is also forecasted to rise to 37% in the same year. Turning to notebook (or laptop) computers, their total shipments in 2021 will register a YoY growth rate of about 15% thanks to the proliferation of the stay-at-home economy.

Finally, the governments of many countries introduced consumption subsidies during the pandemic so as to stimulate the domestic economy. Video streaming services have also grown dramatically with respect to content and demand because of the pandemic. As a result, the TV market is seeing a wave of replacement demand as consumers want to purchase the latest models that offer higher resolutions (e.g., 4K and 8K) and network connectivity (i.e., smart TVs). The total shipments of digital TVs in 2021 are forecasted to undergo a YoY growth rate of around 3%.

The high demand for the aforementioned end devices has therefore resulted in a corresponding surging demand for various ICs used in these devices, including CIS, DDI, and PMICs. In addition, the increasing adoption of cloud services, including IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, has also generated a massive demand for various high-end CPUs and memory products used in the HPC platforms that power said cloud services.

On the whole, TrendForce believes that, with demand maintaining a healthy growth momentum for many kinds of end products, semiconductor components that are manufactured with the same foundry nodes will be competing for production capacity. Some categories of ICs will therefore experience a more severe capacity crunch due to the product mix strategies of respective foundries. In the short term, no effective resolution is expected for the undersupply situation in the foundry market.

Certain foundries will continue to expand their production capacities in 2021 as the semiconductor industry undergoes a structural change

With regards to the expansion plans of various foundries this year, tier-one and tier-two foundries will prioritize the development of different process nodes. More specifically, tier-one foundries, including TSMC and Samsung, will focus on the R&D, fab build-out, and capacity expansion for the 5nm and below nodes in response to the growing chip demand for HPC-related applications. On the other hand, tier-two foundries, including SMIC, UMC, and GlobalFoundries will primarily focus on expanding their production capacities of the 14nm to 40nm mature process nodes in order to meet the massive demand for next-gen telecom technologies (such as 5G and WiFi6/6E) and other diverse applications (such as OLED DDI and CIS/ISP).

Incidentally, it should be pointed out that SMIC’s capacity expansion plans have been constrained after the US Department of Commerce added SMIC to the Entity List, which prohibited the company from procuring US semiconductor equipment. However, SMIC still possesses enough funds for procuring non-US equipment and building new fabs, as the company is not only actively expanding its existing 8-inch and 12-inch wafer capacities, but also proceeding with the construction of its new fab in Beijing.

Apart from the aforementioned companies, other foundries, including PSMC, Tower Semiconductor, Vanguard, and HHGrace, will prioritize the capacity expansion of their 8-inch wafers (which are used for the 55nm and above nodes) to meet the demand for large-sized DDI, TDDI, and PMICs. These foundries, in contrast with their larger competitors, are primarily focusing on 8-inch capacity expansion due to the relatively high cost of DUV immersion systems used for the 40/45nm and below processes. For these companies, it is much more economically feasible to instead undertake capacity expansions for the 55/65nm and above nodes.

For more information on reports and market data from TrendForce’s Department of Semiconductor Research, please click here, or email Ms. Latte Chung from the Sales Department at lattechung@trendforce.com