The global shortage of semiconductors or chips in the aftermath of the Covid-19 led pandemic has eased as per a report by Crisil. A development that led most automakers to cut down production significantly and postpone the launch of new models or to put them to production through 2020, 2021, 2022 and a good part of 2023 has finally eased to iron out any supply chain disruptions that may be there. 

Expected to address and improve predictive demand forecast, the better availability of chips should enable better production schedules. By FY2025-26, Crisil analysts are of the opinion that demand-supply dynamics should be more balance with additional manufacturing capacities getting commissioned. 

With the chips possessing distinct electrical properties that make them the cornerstone of all electronic equipment and devices, it is the auto industry that has come to use them for a variety of functions as automobiles turn increasingly software driven. While the computer and communication equipment (C&C) segment consumes roughly 63 percent of the chips produced, the auto industry consumes roughly 13 percent of them. The other industrial segments consume about 12 percent. 

With new developments such as autonomous and EVs, the use of semiconductors in automobiles is only slated to rise. With passenger vehicles the recipient of most technological innovations ahead of other segments such as two-wheelers, three-wheelers and commercial vehicles, it should not come as a surprise that they consume about 1,500 chips on average – the highest among all automobile types. 

As more advanced electronic features are incorporated, the use for chips increases. The electric passenger vehicles, for example, use almost twice as many chips as internal combustion engine (ICE) passenger vehicles do. The improving supply and slowing demand for computers and mobile phones is therefore looked upon as a blessing in disguise for automobiles and their manufacturers. 

Anuj Sethi, Senior Director, CRISIL Ratings, mentioned, “The chip shortage faced by Indian passenger vehicle makers is easing, with current availability at 85-90 percent of total requirement. The production loss on account of the chip shortage, which had halved to about 300,000 PVs on-year in fiscal 2023, is estimated to have further declined to under 200,000 PVs by the end of September 2023.”

Most passenger vehicle manufacturers are currently operating at near optimal capacity utilisation due to stronger-than-anticipated demand. New orders to be serviced remains high at about 700,000 units at the end of September 2023. 

The easing of chip shortage should help automakers honour new orders with better prediction and faster production. Global automobile demand, severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, made a strong recovery in the latter part of FY2021-22. It caught automobile manufacturers off guard as they had not placed substantial orders for chips. 

The surge in demand for personal computers, laptops and mobile phones, driven by work from home, virtual learning and remote healthcare services, led to a significant chip procurement challenge for the automakers. 

Geographically, the chip ecosystem is skewed, with western nations dominating chip architecture, design, manufacturing equipment, specialised materials and chemicals. Semiconductor fabs1 on the other hand are concentrated in eastern nations, such as Taiwan and South Korea.

Given the criticality of chips in the defense and aerospace industries, the United States and the European Union have offered incentives of about USD 100 billion for localisation of semiconductor fabs. As a result, many global players are slated to spend about USD 360 billion towards setting up new facilities, which would be operational by 2025 and 2026. 

In the Indian context, demand for chips will continue to increase over the medium term, driven by the gradual rise in EV adoption and growing demand for advanced feature-laden ICE vehicles.

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Enmovil Solutions has formed a partnership with Tangentia to provide supply chain orchestration software to manufacturing and automotive enterprises in Canada. The agreement was formalised during the Team Canada Trade Mission to India in October 2026, led by Canada's Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, which resulted in 34 agreements valued at nearly CAD 300 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will combine Enmovil's CADDIE supply chain platform with Tangentia's integration and Agentic AI systems. Tangentia will manage go-to-market operations, deployment and customer support in Canada, targeting manufacturers, automotive original equipment manufacturers, electric vehicle and battery producers, defence contractors and supplier networks. Enmovil's platform manages demand, inventory, production, and logistics planning for clients including Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra, TVS Motor Co, Daimler, Nestle, Hero MotoCorp, Indus Towers and Ashok Leyland.

Ravi Bulusu, Co-Founder and CEO, Enmovil, said, “Canada is a natural next step in Enmovil’s global expansion. Its manufacturing and automotive sectors run on complex, tightly connected supply chains, where faster and better-coordinated decisions translate directly into cost and service outcomes. By combining CADDIE, Industry’s leading Agentic supply chain decisioning and orchestration platform, with Tangentia’s solutions and local expertise, we can offer Canadian enterprises a joint solution that helps them make faster, better-informed supply chain decisions. We look forward to working with Tangentia to bring this to more businesses in Canada.”

Vijay Thomas, CEO, Tangentia, said, “Canadian manufacturers, Retailers and Distributors are under growing pressure to build supply chains that are more resilient and responsive. CADDIE, Enmovil’s supply chain decisioning and orchestration platform, has proven itself at scale with some of the largest manufacturing and automotive companies in India, and it complements Tangentia’s strengths in Supply Chain, EDI, integration and Agentic AI. Together, we can offer our customers a combined solution and a practical path to AI-driven supply chain decisions. This partnership is also a strong example of the growing technology ties between Canada and India.”

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Visteon Corporation and SHINRY Technologies, operating through their joint venture Visteon-Shinry Power Electronics (VSPE), have partnered with Infineon Technologies to develop a single-stage onboard charger for electric vehicles. The announcement was made during the Electronica Trade fair in Munich.

The system combines VSPE's converter hardware topology and control strategy with Infineon's gallium nitride (GaN) monolithic bidirectional switches (BDS). The single-stage architecture consolidates power conversion functions and removes the bulk capacitors used in two-stage onboard chargers to reduce component count, system dimensions, and costs.

The unit supports 22 kW three-phase and 19.2 kW single-phase AC charging alongside vehicle-to-everything (V2X) bidirectional operation. Infineon's GaN BDS devices integrate bidirectional voltage blocking and current conduction into a single semiconductor unit, lowering component requirements in the power stage and shrinking the dimensions of magnetic components through switching frequency operation.

Zilai Zhao, Co-General Manager at Visteon-Shinry Power Electronics, said, “This collaboration brings together complementary strengths in vehicle electronics, power conversion and advanced semiconductors. By combining Visteon’s system expertise and Infineon’s GaN leadership, we’re delivering a transformative solution for next-generation EV platforms.”

Mark Sun, CTO, SHINRY, said, "Integrating Infineon's GaN switches with our proprietary single-stage topology is a game-changer for power density and system cost. Our R&D team is fully committed to validating this innovative architecture to meet the rigorous reliability standards of global automotive customers."

Benoit Rousseau, Vice-President of GaN Automotive, Infineon, said, “Together with Visteon-Shinry Power Electronics we are pushing the boundaries of onboard charging for the next generation of electric vehicles. Our GaN bidirectional switch, recognised as a ‘Global New Energy Vehicle Innovative Technology’ at the 2026 World New Energy Vehicle Congress, combines leading-edge switching performance and efficiency with a new level of semiconductor integration, enabling new power conversion architectures.”

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Dubai Future Foundation has announced DP World as the first strategic partner of SHIFFT, a self-driving logistics joint venture established in collaboration with autonomous vehicle technology company Oxa under the Dubai Research, Development and Innovation Programme.

The partnership focuses on developing and deploying autonomous logistics solutions across ports, terminals and industrial zones, beginning at Jebel Ali Port. The scope includes vehicle integration, autonomous driving functions, safety frameworks, fleet management, routing, digital twins, situational intelligence and operational performance optimisation.

At present, DP World operates more than 900 vehicles at Jebel Ali Port for inter-terminal container movement, alongside thousands of vehicles across its global network of over 60 ports and terminals.

Khalifa Al Qama, Chief of Research, Development and Innovation, Dubai Future Foundation, said, "The selection of DP World as the first strategic partner of SHIFFT marks an important step in developing and implementing autonomous logistics solutions from Dubai. This collaboration brings together world-leading operational expertise and advanced technologies to develop practical solutions that can be deployed and scaled globally."

Ibrahim Al Najjar, Senior Vice-President of Information Technology, DP World GCC, said, "For our customers and partners, autonomous technology translates into more predictable, resilient supply chains that keep cargo moving reliably and at speed. It also creates opportunities for our people to build future-ready skills, while strengthening Dubai’s competitiveness as a destination for trade and investment. By co-developing these technologies here, around real operational needs, we are setting new benchmarks that will benefit the wider industry."

Paul Newman, Founder and CEO, Oxa, said, "This collaboration aims to transform industrial vehicles into an intelligent, autonomous digital workforce capable of operating efficiently in complex, mixed-use environments. By working with DP World, SHIFFT is helping to elevate operational fleet performance and strengthen the long-term resilience of supply chains."

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Acconeer has secured an order valued at USD 520,000 for its A121 pulsed coherent radar sensor for mass production applications within the automotive sector. The purchase order was placed by a Japanese distributor, with product deliveries scheduled for the first half of 2027.

The A121 sensor operates on 60GHz pulsed coherent radar technology integrated within a 28 mm² surface area footprint, providing distance measurement, motion detection and object presence sensing functions.

The supply contract follows growth across Acconeer's automotive product portfolio, which also includes the A212 sensor model. The company announced that the information was submitted for publication pursuant to requirements under the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

"We are seeing strong growth within the automotive industry, driven both by our new A212 sensor – for which deliveries quadrupled in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter – and by our established A121 sensor, with volumes increasing as new models and customers are launched," said Ted Hansson, CEO, Acconeer.

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