Foxconn to Buy Semiconductor Manufacturing Facility

Foxconn Technology Group , the world’s biggest electronics contract manufacturer, said that it would acquire a semiconductor manufacturing facility, taking the company deeper into the chip business at a time of unprecedented global strain.

Foxconn, best known as the largest assembler of Apple Inc. iPhones, said Thursday that it would buy the Taiwan-based plant, which manufactures six-inch wafers used in cars, a purchase that it said would help secure a steady supply of auto chips as Foxconn expands further into the electric-vehicle industry.

Foxconn, based in New Taipei, Taiwan, said in February that it would assemble cars for electric-vehicle startup Fisker Inc., and in May said it would join forces with Stellantis NV, the maker of Jeep and Chrysler, to develop in-car software.

Foxconn’s deal with Macronix International —which is based in Hsinchu, Taiwan—is small, worth the equivalent of about $91 million. But it positions Foxconn to jump into production of a certain kind of semiconductor that is quickly emerging as a leading technology in the electric-vehicle industry.

The six-inch wafers manufactured at the plant are used primarily for making car-chip components made of silicon carbide, a material that is regarded as offering better performance than traditional silicon for some tasks, such as fast charging. U.S. electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. began using silicon carbide components in 2018, making it one of the first in the industry.