Taiwan's memory maker Windbond Electronics has cut into the supply chain of Europe's largest e-bike maker with its specialty DRAM, and is also actively developing sales of its flash memory for automotive applications, according to industry sources.

The sources said Winbond has landed e-bike controller orders from the vendor through Germany-based Bosch E-Bike Systems, now the world's largest supplier of e-bike motors.

E-bike can be connected through a mobile phone, and the controller can be used to connect the mobile phone with Bluetooth and remotely call the location, thus requiring specialty DRAM to support its operation, the sources said. After gaining a head start in the European market, Winbond will be considering penetrating its specialty DRAM into Japan, the second largest e-bike market, they added.

Winbond's senior technology officer DP Chen has said that the European e-bike market boasts great growth potential, with sales there estimated to surge from five million units in 2021 to 15-16 million by 2030, higher than shipments of general bicycles. Current global e-bike shipments are estimated at 50 million units, accounting for 30% of total bike sales, and may expand to 68 million units by 2025, he continued.

Chen remarked Winbond has delivered specialty DRAM chips ranging in density from 64mb to 16Gb by having them paired with different SoCs for diverse automotive applications.

A delay in the development of SoCs by fabless chipmakers for IoV (Internet of Vehicles) application has dragged down the incorporation of specialty DRAM into IoV uses, Chen noted, but an industry ecosystem in this regard is expected to gradually take shape by 2025 along with the proliferating IoV applications.

Chen stressed Winbond is confident that up to 80% of new vehicles will feature IoV functions by 2030, and the market demand for automotive memory is bound to grow sharply through that year.

Chen also disclosed Winbond's new plant in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan will adopt its new 20nm process for mass production, compared to its existing 25nm node, before advancing further to 10nm technology.

The company is also actively expanding automotive applications for its NOR flash, with revenue contribution for the segment likely to exceed that for its specialty DRAM by 2023-2024, industry sources said.

By: DocMemory
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