It also noted that qualifying new suppliers could take months. In September 2026, Reuters reported Nexperia’ s newly announced partnership with Tata Electronics to manufacture and package its chips in India, following the dispute that disrupted supplies of Chinapackaged components to carmakers.
For automotive engineers, the significance extends beyond one manufacturer. Modern vehicles contain complex electronic architectures, while electrification and software-defined functionality are the semiconductor content of vehicles.
A longer-term consideration
This makes the choice of MCU more consequential. Engineers are not selecting a processor based on processing capability. Memory, peripherals, package, power consumption, operating temperature, development environment and software compatibility all influence whether a device is suitable for an application.
For electronics manufacturers, a component does not necessarily have to become completely unavailable to cause problems.
Automotive applications add further considerations around reliability, qualification and product longevity, and that means changing an MCU late in a product’ s development can be considerably more complicated than changing a passive component. It can involve software changes, validation and testing before production can resume.
This is where access to alternative MCU manufacturers can become useful. For instance, Avant
Electronics operates as a B2B electronics distributor, working with manufacturers including Difmicro and Slkor, with Zel Components providing its growing e-commerce presence for electronic components.
The semiconductor industry is already changing around them. Supply constraints, AIdriven demand and geopolitical restrictions are influencing where manufacturers invest and how semiconductor capacity is allocated.
For automotive and industrial electronics, understanding the wider MCU market is, therefore, less about finding a cheaper component. It’ s about understanding what is available, what can be qualified and how individual component decisions affect the resilience of a finished product.
To discuss alternative components, potential cost savings or shorter lead times, contact Avant Electronics.
For further information, please visit www. avantelectronics. co. uk
Issue 83 PECM 51