Infineon teams with VinFast, LG

INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES has announced a new collaboration with Vietnamese car-maker VinFast and LG Group’s research and development hub, LG Sciencepark, to drive what it says are sustainable future driving solutions.

The partnership aims to focus on the production of “semiconductors that enable efficient energy management, smart mobility, and secure and seamless communications in a connected world”.

With bases across Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam, Infineon Technologies says its community of creators, manufacturers and start-ups will work together to build upon the brand’s range of sensors, microcontrollers, actuators, and secured connectivity technologies to create new solutions that will power emerging technologies that “address today’s biggest challenges”.

According to a statement issued by Infineon Technologies, the company will collaborate with VinFast to establish what it calls a joint application centre in Hanoi in the first quarter of 2023.

To be known as the VinFast Infineon Competence Centre, the facility will work to “accelerate the co-development of future solutions for smart mobility such as the next-generation electric driveline for EV platforms”.

Meanwhile, LG and Infineon will “identify and support” promising start-ups who are looking to commercialise or scale their operations in South Korean and across Southeast Asia.

“As a market leader in power and IoT (Internet of Things) systems, Infineon aims to innovate with our key partners to continue making life easier, safer and greener,” said Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific president and managing director, Chee Seong Chua.

“Today marks the expansions of Infineon’s innovation ecosystem beyond Singapore and Malaysia. With our new innovation partners based in South Korea and Vietnam, Infineon is shaping a sustainable future by driving solutions for decarbonisation and digitalisation in Asia.”

The news comes days after a group of visiting automotive journalists raised serious questions as to the legitimacy of Vietnam’s only car-maker.

Bloomberg and other media outlets were hosted at VinFast facilities last week to see the body shop, press shop, battery pack facility and general assembly line. The report said: “The cavernous complex was stocked with state-of-the-art German machines and gleaming robots”.

VinFast also makes its own micro-chips and is starting to make its own EV batteries “just next door,” attendees were informed.

But the media’s visit left quite a few question marks over the veracity of the company… According to Bloomberg: “very little equipment was operating during the visit and most places were devoid of workers, creating some scepticism.”

Bloomberg’s report called attention to what it considered to be some anomalies at VinFast saying: “There was always a ready reason for where everyone else was”.

It’s a development we’ll continue to monitor with interest.