Stellantis N.V. and Hon Hai Technology Group, better known as Foxconn, officially unveiled their 50/50 joint venture: SiliconAuto. This ambitious venture is dedicated to the design and sales of high-tech semiconductors to cater to the ever-growing needs of the automotive industry. The project, which will launch in 2026, combines the respective expertise of both multinational companies, aiming to provide an automotive-centric source for the increasingly high-demand semiconductors, especially for electric vehicles.
Foxconn brings its extensive experience and prowess in the ICT industry to the table, whereas Stellantis’s comprehensive understanding of global mobility needs promises to make SiliconAuto a formidable player in the automotive semiconductor landscape. Products born out of this joint venture will cater not only to Stellantis and Foxconn but also other global customers.
Notably, the venture will supply Stellantis’ new electrical/electronic and software architecture, STLA Brain, which boasts full over-the-air updating capabilities. Stellantis CTO, Ned Curic, expressed confidence in this new venture, stating, “Our goal is to build vehicles that seamlessly connect with our customers’ daily lives and deliver class-leading capabilities years after they leave the assembly line.”
The prospects are equally encouraging on the Foxconn side, with Jerry Hsiao, Chief Product Officer, asserting the venture will be a game-changer. “The collaborative energy will propel our customers to become more competitive,” Hsiao said.
SiliconAuto’s operations will be directed from its headquarters in the Netherlands, with a management team incorporating executives from both Stellantis and Foxconn. Stellantis is set to lend its expertise, enabling SiliconAuto to meet the needs of future battery electric vehicles and multi-energy vehicle platforms.
This joint venture is a result of an agreement inked back in December 2021, wherein both companies pledged to develop a family of semiconductors exclusively for automotive applications. Besides SiliconAuto, Stellantis and Foxconn also operate Mobile Drive, another joint venture that focuses on the development of smart cockpits enabled by consumer electronics, human-machine interfaces, and services.
The partnership between Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, and Stellantis, one of the leading automakers, has stirred excitement and anticipation in the auto industry. It signals a potential new era where tech companies and automakers work more closely than ever before, fusing the best of both worlds in the pursuit of next-generation electric mobility. With SiliconAuto, the future of automotive semiconductors looks promising.
