In contrast, the manufacturing strategy of the automotive
industry is influenced by long product life cycles and a
low vertical integration. An average vehicle is
manufactured in series production for five years,
followed by a service life of up to fifteen years [18].
Therefore, a guaranteed long-term availability of
electrical components is required. In addition, the
performance requirements in the automotive industry are
lower in comparison to other sectors and, moreover, the
suppliers are subject to time-consuming and expensive
qualification procedures for production equipment.
Consequently, there is a trend to manufacture chips for
the automotive market on older semiconductor
production equipment.
From a strategic point of view, the long product life
cycles and the qualification requirements reduce the
semiconductor manufacturers’ flexibility in optimizing
their production capacities.