Hon Hai Technology Group of Taiwan announced it had signed a preliminary agreement with US Nasdaq-listed NXP Semiconductors to jointly develop platforms for smart connected vehicles.
Hon Hai, Apple’s leading contract manufacturer Foxconn, wants to become a significant player in the global EV market and related supply chain. It is positioning itself as a global EV contract manufacturer, having developed a dedicated EV platform – the MIH Open Platform – which it also offers to customers.
Hon Hai said the MIH Open Platform would be the focal point of collaboration with NXP. It planned to integrate NXP’s S32 processor family and its analogue front end, drive, networking and power products into the platform.
The two companies also “plan to include upcoming platforms such as Electrical/Electronic Architecture (EEA), cybersecurity and connectivity products using the latest NXP S32 domain and zonal controller family for gateways and vehicle networking control, while also advancing secure car access with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and ultra-wideband (UWB)”. Safe automated driving will be another area of collaboration helped by NXP’s radar products.
The two companies have outlined 10 automotive product areas for the first stage which Hon Hai said would soon be in development.
Hon Hai described NXP as a world leader in secure connectivity for embedded applications with a lead position in the automotive market, particularly in microprocessors (MPU), microcontrollers (MCU) and cybersecurity products.
Hon Hai said the new strategic partnership with NXP would strengthen its ability to build competitive EV products at a rapid pace, help reduce time to market and optimise the efficiency of its R&D resources.
Chairman Young Liu said his company “sees the disruptive challenges and the potential for innovation in today’s automotive industry. This is a prime opportunity given our particular electronics expertise. NXP’s longstanding expertise and leadership in the automotive area, its innovative products and its laser focus on safety, security and quality provide the foundation for the collaboration we are activating today”.
Kurt Sievers, president and CEO of NXP Semiconductors, said: “We are proud to join forces with Hon Hai today to support its ambitious leap into an automotive and to jointly address the challenges and opportunities of a new generation of smart, connected vehicles, especially Hon Hai’s new electric vehicle platform. The auto industry has to become faster and more efficient and NXP is pleased to extend its technology portfolio to enable electrification, next-generation architectures, smart car access systems and more.”