The BMW Group close a long-term deal with GlobalFoundries and Inova Semiconductor to increase the supply of important semiconductor chips. It shows a new way for auto manufacturers to work directly with semiconductor manufacturers, sidestepping traditional parts makers.
“We are deepening our partnership with suppliers at key points in the supplier network and synchronizing our capacity planning directly with semiconductor manufacturers and developers,” Andreas Wendt, a board member responsible for purchasing, said in a statement.
The agreement is a model to show how to build more secure and resilient supply chain partnerships and accelerate the next generation of automotive innovation. It also guarantees the supply of several million microchips per year to BMW. The chip will be used for car-in lighting, and provide controls for ambient lightning systems that will first be used in the BMW iX electric sport-utility vehicle.
The shortage of chips led the company to shut its production in many factories, its vehicle sales came down year-ago level in November.
Agreement with BMW is second for GlobalFoundries, the first being with Ford on 18 November for supply and development of chips.
