The automotive industry falls into another “chip shortage” crisis in 2026

In early 2026, the automotive industry once again faced the pressure of chip shortages, with the focus this time being on memory chips. Xiaomi, NIO, and Ideal AUTO, among other automakers, have issued warnings: memory costs are soaring quarterly, potentially increasing the cost per vehicle by several thousand yuan. Ideal AUTO even pointed out that the annual satisfaction rate of memory chip supply may be less than 50%. Due to the expansion of AI infrastructure, global memory chip production capacity is shifting towards the AI sector, squeezing the procurement space for automobiles, with DRAM products such as DDR4/DDR5 being particularly in short supply. Guangzhou Honda and NIO have adjusted their production schedules in response. In addition to memory chips, other chips have also experienced price hikes due to rising raw material costs. The industry predicts that the supply-demand gap will continue to widen in the next two to three years. Automakers are mitigating risks by locking in production capacity in advance, promoting the localization of chips, and developing their own chips, which also provides a window of opportunity for domestic chip manufacturers to enter the automotive supply chain.