TESLA JOINS SWISS FIRM’S MAINLAND CAR CHIP VENTURE
New company controlled by Annex will supply vehicle semiconductors and could boost Beijing’s plans to develop what it sees as a critical sector
Tesla has become part of a joint venture in China with Swiss automotive chip company Annex Semiconductor, giving the US electric vehicle giant a presence in an industry Beijing is looking to promote.
The joint venture, Anas Semiconductor (Jinan), is based in Shandong province and was established on October 19 with a registered capital of US$150 million. It is expected to supply automotive chips and other electronics.
Annex is among the global leaders in automotive-system-on-chip, microcontroller and processor, image sensor and power device products that support assisted and autonomous driving, according to its website.
Annex has a controlling stake of 55 per cent stake in the joint venture, Tesla has 5 per cent for now, while Jinan Zurich Annecy Equity Investment Fund Partnership controls 40 per cent, according to records on the business registry website Qichacha and domestic media reports.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla’s Shanghai factory is the first fully owned foreign carmaking plant in China and assembles Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, whose prices range from about 300,000 yuan (HK$327,000) to 400,000 yuan.
The American giant dominates China’s premium electricvehicle segment.
Tesla’s push into the car chip sector is another sign of its localisation strategy in the country, after vehicle shipments from Shanghai reached 1 million units in August.
At that time, Tesla said China’s domestic supply chain provided 95 per cent of the components and materials it needed for the Shanghai plant, according to a post by PR head Grace Taolin on Weibo.
Tesla’s move also comes as China continues to battle US trade sanctions aimed at restricting its ability to make 14-nanometre chips, currently the most advanced technology node at the country’s top foundry, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation.
Tesla’s effort to use domestically produced chips could be a boon for Beijing’s drive to promote development of mature chip manufacturing, due to the size of the US company’s annual shipments.
China-based electric-vehicle makers have been hit by intermittent chip shortages since 2020. However, authorities including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have said that the shortages had eased from the situation seen early this year.
Tesla delivered more than 343,000 cars in the third quarter of this year, compared to 241,300 in the same period a year ago, according to website data.
China is the world’s largest electric-vehicle market, with breakneck growth prompting global players to shift their focus from traditional cars to maintain market share in the country.