TAIPEI: The chairman of Taiwanese technology conglomerate Foxconn says he expects clients will face only “limited impact” from a chip shortage that has rattled the global automotive and semiconductor industries.

“Since most of the customers we serve are large customers, they all have proper precautionary planning,” said Liu Young-way. “Therefore, the impact on these large customers is there, but limited,” he said.

The global spread of Covid-19 has increased demand for laptops, gaming consoles, and other electronics, causing chip manufacturers to reallocate capacity away from the automotive sector.

But, as car sales ramp up, some of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers, including Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford, have cut output as chip capacity has shrunk.

Counterpoint Research says the shortage has extended to the smartphone sector, with application processors, display driver chips, and power management chips all facing a crunch.

Foxconn, meanwhile, is looking at new growth areas, including electric vehicles, and has developed an EV platform, along with 736 partners.