Bosch to build advanced semicon fab for automotive application
The Bosch Group is to invest approximately €550m in a new manufacturing facility for 200 mm semi-conductors.
The fab will be constructed on the company’s site in Reutlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. Bosch Automotive Electronics division is based in Reutlingen, and the semiconductor and micro-machined chips in the new fab will have a predominantly automotive application.
The facility will have an output of up to 1,000 silicon wafers per day, equivalent to one million microchips. The average number of application-specific microchips in mid-range or luxury cars is between 100 to 200, and Bosch intend to tap in to a growing industry.
“We anticipate that the semiconductor market for automotive applications will grow by an average of 10% per year in the medium term”, said Dr Bernd Bohr, member of the Bosch board of management and chairman of the Automotive Group.
Construction of the new fab is scheduled for autumn 2007 and production is planned to begin in mid 2009.