South Korea’s leading automotive manufacturers, Kia Corporation and Kia Corporation, have partnered with Infineon Technologies AG, Germany’s renowned automotive chipmaker. Officially sealed in Munich, the partnership focuses on securing a stable supply chain for power semiconductors, the vital components essential for efficient management and conversion of electric power in eco-friendly vehicles, as the South Korean companies detailed.
This collaborative effort between Hyundai, Kia, and Infineon Technologies aims to facilitate the development of power semiconductors crucial for electric vehicles’ performance. The agreement also entails the procurement of core power semiconductors, including diodes, insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), and silicon carbide (SiC) power modules.
In the partnership, Hyundai and Kia have committed to providing financial support to the project. This agreement builds upon their longstanding collaboration in sensor components that dates back to the early 2000s. Infineon began supplying power semiconductors to the companies in the mid-2000s, and both entities jointly operated a research center from 2007 to 2020, focusing on optimizing the electrical performance of vehicles.
In addition to securing their power semiconductor supply, Hyundai and Kia are set to collaborate closely with Infineon to enhance the power performance of their electrified vehicle lineup. It includes advancements in electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid models.
Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to integrate the power semiconductors into their upcoming electrified vehicles. Both companies have recently elevated their annual electric vehicle sales targets for 2030, with Hyundai Motor aiming for 2 million units and Kia for 1.6 million units.
Hyundai’s Global Strategy Officer (GSO) Kim Heung-soo, Infineon’s Automotive Division President Peter Schiefer, and other executives signed the agreement at Infineon’s headquarters.
The collaboration between Hyundai, Kia, and Infineon is expected to play a key role in helping both automakers achieve their ambitious electric vehicle sales targets. Infineon Technologies AG’s distinguished status as a global semiconductor leader is founded upon its robust technological prowess, top-notch production quality, and extensive history of mass-production verification.
In the automotive sector, semiconductors are indispensable, fulfilling critical roles across various vehicle systems encompassing powertrain, battery management, safety, and infotainment.
This importance is amplified in electric vehicles, which rely even more heavily on semiconductor components than traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, and the advent of autonomous driving technologies further escalates the demand for sophisticated sensor chips.
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