Components crunch: China’s carmakers face rising costs to keep intelligence edge

Chinese smart vehicle makers face rising costs and a 20-30% global shortage of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), with prices more than tripling over the past year, as AI demand soaks up supply. Industry officials and analysts say it will take at least a year for the global supply chain to ramp up production to meet demand, squeezing margins for automakers that rely on intelligence to attract consumers.

Advertisement Components crunch: China’s carmakers face rising costs to keep intelligence edge Smart vehicle makers scramble for key parts PCBs and MLCCs as AI demand soaks up supply, leaving margins under siege 3-MIN READ3-MIN Daniel Ren /author/daniel-ren in Shanghai Chinese smart vehicle makers https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3304267/sci-fi-reality-chinese-ev-makers-outpace-tesla-autonomous-driving-race?module=inline&pgtype=article have been hit by another setback as a global components shortage collides with surging prices of raw materials, driven by the artificial intelligence boom. It would take at least a year for the global supply chain to ramp up production of printed circuit boards PCBs and multilayer ceramic capacitors https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3363190/chinas-mlcc-supply-chain-expanding-rapidly-amid-surge-global-ai-demand?module=inline&pgtype=article MLCCs – two key parts that make vehicles intelligent – to meet rising demand, according to industry officials and analysts.“The components, though small, play a key role in the automotive industry’s effort to make millions of cars more autonomous and smarter,” Chen Jinzhu, CEO of the consultancy Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service, told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday. “Market demand for electric vehicles https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3362717/price-war-fears-grip-chinas-ev-market-after-woeful-july-sales-figures?module=inline&pgtype=article EVs is falling, but component supply remains a thorny issue for leading players since they focus on intelligence to make their cars attractive to consumers.”Industry officials said the global auto sector was facing a 20 to 30 per cent shortage of components, with prices more than tripling over the past year. The crunch stems from explosive AI growth and the rapid buildout of AI data centres https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3361988/chinas-localised-data-centre-push-drives-ai-ambitions-amid-overbuilding-concerns?module=inline&pgtype=article worldwide.Advertisement Select Voice Select Speed 1.00x