According to a recent report by the Nikkei, Japanese automotive IDM giant Renesas Electronics may abandon the production of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors aimed at electric vehicles. In addition to canceling the planned mass production set for early 2025, the related team has also been disbanded.Supply chain insiders point out that Renesas’s strength lies in computing logic ICs, while power components have primarily focused on insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). In recent years, Renesas has begun to venture into the third-generation semiconductor fields of SiC and gallium nitride (GaN), mainly to meet the demands of the electric vehicle (EV) industry.However, the global demand for electric vehicles is expected to weaken in 2024, with major automakers in Europe, the United States, and Japan adjusting their strategies, leading to a significant reduction in Renesas’s planned SiC orders. Particularly in China, the world’s largest electric vehicle market, domestic manufacturers dominate over 60% of the market share. Additionally, Japanese automakers such as Toyota and Honda are strengthening collaborations with domestic manufacturers in the Chinese market, which may lead Renesas to believe that this market is no longer profitable.Data shows that due to the continuous expansion of silicon carbide production capacity in China, the price of silicon carbide substrates is declining at a rate far exceeding the pace of market expansion. By the second half of 2024, the price of 6-inch silicon carbide substrates has dropped below $500, nearing the production cost line, a more than 90% plunge compared to prices in 2022.In 2025, the potential implementation of automotive tariffs in the United States may impact the Japanese automotive industry, further weakening market demand. Against this backdrop, Renesas is rumored to be considering selling its SiC-related assets, as its equipment utilization is high and the investment time is short. However, this information still needs to be confirmed by their official announcement.It is noteworthy that Renesas has recently reached a strategic cooperation with American sensor and power semiconductor manufacturer Polar Semiconductor, which will produce automotive-grade 650V 8-inch GaN components for Renesas. This indicates that Renesas is restructuring its layout in the third-generation semiconductor field, choosing to heavily invest in GaN while abandoning SiC, possibly in response to demand in the U.S. market. Market estimates suggest that Renesas will integrate resources and will undoubtedly focus more on automotive logic IC projects.In the 2024 sales ranking of the SiC power semiconductor market, domestic manufacturers BYD, Silan Microelectronics, and Star Semiconductor have entered the global top ten. In contrast, in the international market, U.S. SiC wafer manufacturer Wolfspeed is preparing to file for bankruptcy restructuring due to a massive $6.5 billion debt; Rohm Semiconductor has reported its first loss in 12 years due to increased fixed costs from its transition to 8-inch devices; STMicroelectronics (STM) has seen a decline in market share due to poor sales performance from Tesla; Infineon and Onsemi are also undergoing layoffs and workforce reallocation.
Source: Chip Speed