LX Semicon’s automotive microcontroller (MCU) “LX61101.” LX Semicon
LX Semicon (108320.KQ) has localized production of an automotive microcontroller unit (MCU) and begun supplying it to Hyundai Motor and Kia, giving the two automakers a way to diversify a chip supply chain that had relied heavily on foreign suppliers.
The company said on the 10th that it had started mass production of the LX61101, an automotive MCU designed for motor control, and is now supplying it to Hyundai Motor and Kia.
An MCU is a core system chip that assesses and controls the movement of various devices inside a vehicle. The LX61101, which LX Semicon has supplied to Hyundai Motor and Kia since July of this year, controls various motors. It calculates in real time the speed, position, rotation direction and torque of motors connected to automotive electronic systems and directs them to perform the required actions. It is also used in safety features that reopen a car window when an obstacle is detected as it closes, and in aerodynamic control systems that regulate a vehicle’s airflow.
LX Semicon achieved the localization by extending design technology it had developed for home appliance MCUs to automotive use. It took part in Hyundai Motor and Kia’s 2023 selection of a new supplier for a “motor-function-specialized MCU,” was chosen as the supplier, and entered mass production after roughly three years of development and quality verification. With this production, LX Semicon has secured the large automotive chip market as a new revenue source, 27 years after its founding in 1999.
The launch is also significant because it establishes a domestic supply chain for automotive MCUs. For the LX61101 delivered to Hyundai Motor and Kia, LX Semicon handles chip design and Samsung Electronics handles the foundry work. Back-end processes such as packaging are handled by outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) firms with production bases in Korea. As a result, a supply chain has formed in which design, production, verification and sales all take place domestically.
The move also allows Hyundai Motor and Kia to secure a domestic supply chain for automotive chips. Until now, automotive MCUs had relied heavily on foreign suppliers such as NXP, Renesas and Infineon. Because carmakers faced production disruptions from a shortage of automotive chips after COVID-19, broadening the sourcing of key chips to domestic suppliers is seen as meaningful for supply chain stability.
Building on this supply deal with Hyundai Motor and Kia, LX Semicon plans to develop automotive chips into a new growth pillar alongside its display driver ICs (DDI). Its strategy is to expand revenue by aggressively targeting the automotive MCU market, which is expected to surpass 10 trillion won. According to market researcher Fortune Business Insights, the automotive MCU market is projected to grow from 9.0346 trillion won in 2026 at an average annual rate of 7.6% over the following seven years, reaching 15.0595 trillion won in 2033.
An LX Semicon official said the company will develop its automotive MCU business over the medium and long term and expand its product lineup beyond control chips to communication, drive, sensor and power applications. “Through automotive chips, we will broaden our growth opportunities and contribute to expanding the ecosystem of Korea’s finished-vehicle and system-chip industries,” the official said.