Bosch to spend $3bn to bolster European chip supplies

Germany’s Robert Bosch is making a bigger bet on semiconductors with plans to spend EUR3bn($3 billion) to help ease a worldwide shortage of computer chips that has crimped vehicle production.

The auto-parts supplier said Wednesday it will make the investment by 2026 as part of European Union and German government efforts to double Europe’s share of global chip output to 20 per cent by the end of the decade.

Bosch invests further billions in chip business: From consumer goods to #mobility – the demand for semiconductors is growing continuously. To gear up for it, we'll be investing another €3 billion by 2026 in our #semiconductor division: https://t.co/aqh4uUdue8 #BoschTechDay pic.twitter.com/gA5R5P4vAY

— BoschGlobal (@BoschGlobal) July 13, 2022

The US government also has stepped up calls to boost domestic production after supply constraints sparked by the pandemic heightened risks of over-reliance on Asian imports.

“We’re gearing up for continued growth in demand for semiconductors,” Bosch Chief Executive Officer Stefan Hartung said in a statement.

It’s the latest move by Bosch to expand chip production after it spent EUR1bn on a new wafer plant in the Dresden, Germany, that opened in June of last year. The additional semiconductor supply will be used not only in cars and trucks, but also for a number of other applications from household appliances to wearable technology, Bosch said.

Read: Samsung is first to start mass production of 3-nanometre chips