Auto supplier Aumovio warns AI data center demand will send chip prices soaring in 2027

German auto parts maker Aumovio has warned that demand from AI data centers will push semiconductor prices sharply higher in 2027, according to Bloomberg and Reuters reports from November 5 relayed by ZDNet Korea.

The company expects raw-material costs for chips, memory and printed circuit boards to reach at least 1 billion euros. That is a gross cost estimate, not the expected hit to operating profit. Aumovio was spun off from Continental last year and supplies radar, cameras, vehicle computers and braking systems to BMW, Volkswagen, Ford and BYD.

Interim CFO Claus Bauer told an earnings call that price increases began in the third quarter, sped up in the fourth and will grow much steeper next year. He said AI data center customers are less price-sensitive, leaving carmakers at a disadvantage in bidding.

Bauer expects chip suppliers could double capacity aimed at data centers. Power constraints may eventually limit data center growth, but he does not see demand slowing before next year.

Warnings about memory shortages have been piling up. Samsung Electronics said in April that the shortage would worsen in 2027, and SK hynix said in July that next year could be the worst supply crunch in the memory industry's history. Industry groups including the US Alliance for Automotive Innovation told Washington in June that data centers were absorbing memory capacity.

Aumovio plans to redesign products and cut costs while passing the remainder to automaker customers through higher prices. Consultancy Berylls by AlixPartners said big AI buyers have locked up Asian PCB capacity for a long time, raising shortage risk for carmakers. Experts still see a COVID-style production shutdown as relatively unlikely.

Source: 지디넷코리아

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