Emerging Automotive Technologies See Exposure at Diverse Expos in Taiwan

Professional trade shows around the world have been tentatively opening their doors to international visitors, especially after almost two years of less travel and expo activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Taiwan, despite how COVID cases were on the rise heading into Q2 of 2022, several of the island's largest and more notable trade shows carried on without a hitch.

Taipei AMPA 2022

Economic Daily News (CENS), as usual, was a familiar face at the Taipei AMPA and Autotronics Taipei shows, bringing CENS-published Taiwan Transportation Guide (TTG) April 2022 editions of the paperback magazine and USB e-book versions, and the 2022 Guidebook to Taiwan Hand Tools paperback magazine to the show.

While there weren't as many exhibitors and international buyers at the show compared to the past editions — mainly due to Taiwan's border restrictions on international travelers and the emerging local outbreak prompting exhibitors to cancel — the show was a physical reminder of how the automotive and parts sector was at a crucial crossroad.

According to ITRI Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK), global sales of EVs in 2021 are forecasted to grow an 89.5%, and under this trend, over 30 countries and six big-name automotive brands penning an agreement at the COP26 to achieve full electrification by 2040, cementing EV's position to come in the industry.

Many Taiwanese suppliers, often partaking in aftermarket, OEM production, have been diverting more resources into developing parts for EVs. For instance, vehicle sensor maker Cub Elecparts, an exhibitor at Taipei AMPA, not only rolled out standard ADAS solutions for EVs, but also its newest product co-developed with NXP, a 4D imaging radar system, and international-standardized inner tire radius difference systems, and blind-spot monitoring radar for scooters.

The world's top ten power suppliers and manufacturers, Phihong Technology, Ta Ya Electric Wire & Cable, and KS Terminals, were also at the show, exhibiting the future of the automotive industry and potential opportunities in auto parts.

Touch Taiwan 2022

At Touch Taiwan, hosted between April 27 to 29, one of the most significant highlights of the show were touch screen applications in vehicles, specifically smart cockpit solutions from big-name screen suppliers like AUO, Innolux, and Ben Q, to name a few.

Technologies are maturing, and suppliers are seeing business opportunities to get a stake in this fast-advancing area, ranging from better-informed designs for greater user experiences by incorporating features like GPS, route directions, and facial recognition capabilities, to more aesthetically-driven designs. Some solutions are also gradually adding features that turn screens in vehicles into entertainment devices, such as shopping interfaces in the passenger seat dashboard screen.

COMPUTEX Taipei 2022

What used to be a show largely comprised of computer and technology-focused exhibitors, COMPUTEX Taipei has evolved over the years to house new, innovative fields with strong ties to technology. As industries and technologies converge, services and products from different areas are overlapping, prompting unique demands that were less seen in the past, but crucial in advancing applications like in the vehicle IoT field.

For instance, as more applications in the automotive field are digitalized, such as the popularity of electric vehicles and advancing self-driving car development, the demand for fast-processing chips has increased. As a show exhibitor, MediaTek displayed its two-pronged approach in the automotive area, with vehicle IoT TCU products based on its in-house 5G technology, and IVI solutions that encompass multimedia and computing capabilities. The company has also acquired orders from auto suppliers, with expectations to see vehicles equipped with MediaTek 5G chips ship out in the H2 2022 for Asian markets and 2023 for European and the U.S. markets at the latest.

Delta Electronics offered a sneak peak into how community microgrids and battery solutions that can be optimized for EV charging, renewables, and energy storage. This serves as a comprehensive solution that aims to resolve existing roadblocks for EV charging in communities.