DETROIT — General Motors plans to launch a strategy that will reduce the number of unique microcontroller units required by 95 percent in order to streamline hardware and software advancements and secure its semiconductor supply chain, GM President Mark Reuss said Thursday.
Under the strategy, hardware and software developers will draw from three families of chips, put together by partnerships between GM and various suppliers, Reuss said during Barclays Global Automotive and Mobility Tech Conference. The plan will help the automaker meet its goal to double revenue by 2030 and could strengthen GM’s flow of semiconductors after the global microchip shortage pummeled vehicle production industrywide this year.
GM expects semiconductor requirements to more than double over the next several years. It will consolidate core microprocessor chip purchases into three families co-developed, sourced and built with leading semiconductor manufacturers. The strategy is designed to support electric vehicle, autonomous vehicle and connected services growth, Reuss said.
“This will drive quality and predictability. Even one of those families of the three could alone account for more than 10 million units annually,” Reuss said. “Those three core microcontrollers are really designed to provide more than seven years of platform stability, so that really unlocks software developers to focus on the creation of high-value customer-facing future content within the company.”
GM has partnered with:
- Qualcomm Technologies, which develops and commercializes 5G, digital cockpit and advanced driver-assistance system/autonomous driving platforms
- STMicroelectronics, a vertically integrated manufacturer of automotive semiconductors
- TSMC, the lead semiconductor foundry
- Renesas Electronics Corp., a global supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions
- Onsemi, a leading supplier in intelligent power and sensing technologies
- NXP Semiconductors, which supplies microcontrollers with complementary high-performance mixed-signal semiconductors
- Infineon Technologies, which builds semiconductors for mobility, energy efficiency and the Internet of Things
“Strategic supplier agreements and joint R&D programs and manufacturing collaboration … will really help us get the full potential of Ultium and Ultifi dual platforms and deliver high-volume, very focused units,” Reuss said.
GM expects much of this supply chain to flow through the U.S. and Canada, Reuss added.
Ford Motor Co. also said Thursday that it would partner with semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries to accelerate U.S. production of chips amid the global shortage and to help design them in the future.