AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Chip buyers, including the German car industry, need the older generation computer chips that Chinese chipmakers are currently investing in, the CEO of equipment maker ASML said in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt published this Monday.
The remarks by Christophe Fouquet, who took over as CEO of Europe’s biggest technology company in April, come as the European Commission begins interviewing companies, including ASML, to get their views on investments by Chinese companies. on so-called “legacy” chips, an important source. of revenue for ASML.
“The automotive industry in particular, including the German one, needs many more chips manufactured with simpler and more familiar technologies,” Fouquet told the newspaper.
Facing U.S. restrictions on more advanced technologies, Chinese companies are expanding production capacity for these older chips, raising Western concerns about the potential for long-term oversupply.
Fouquet said global demand for such chips is increasing dramatically, but producing them is not very profitable and Western companies are not investing enough.
“Europe cannot cover even half of its own needs,” said Fouquet.
According to estimates from industry group SEMI, Chinese chipmakers will increase capacity by 14% in 2025, more than double the pace of the rest of the world, to 10.1 million wafers per month in 2025, representing about a third of total global production.
“If someone wants to slow down, for whatever reason, then alternatives are needed. It makes no sense to stop someone from producing something you need,” said Fouquet.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling, editing by Louise Heavens)
