Denso to Ramp up Chip Business By Funneling JPY 500B by 2030

Denso, a Japanese automotive supplier, plans to invest about 500 billion yen ($3.3 billion) in semiconductors by 2030, with the goal of tripling the size of its chips business by 2035 from current levels, according to the company's president on Thursday.

Denso, a Toyota group supplier and one of the world's largest manufacturers of auto parts and components, has been expanding its chip business in recent years, including through partnership agreements to secure more semiconductors.

Last year, it announced a joint venture with Sony to build a chip plant in Japan with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, demonstrating how the shift to electric vehicles and so-called "connected cars" has increased semiconductor demand from automakers and their suppliers.

"In order to expand production, we must ensure consistent material procurement." As a result, we will form strategic alliances with a variety of companies," Denso President Shinnosuke Hayashi said at the Japan Mobility Show, which opened on Thursday.

He stated that the company will hire new employees to specialise in electrification and software, as well as transfer employees from mature businesses to electrification and software.