Bosch to construct chip facility for autonomous vehicles

The auto supplier will build a $1.1 billion semiconductor plant as demand for autonomous vehicle components continue to rise.    German multinational engineering and electronics company Bosch is set to build an $1.1 billion facility for self-driving cars, smart homes and smart city infrastructure, according to multiple news sources.
   The facility, slated for opening in 2021, will produce semiconductors and will be based in Dresden, Germany. Construction for the facility is to be finished by 2019.
   The company has supplied chips for cars for the last 40 years, supply chips that provide functionality to cars and well as in-car cellular connectivity.
   “Expanding our production capacity will help us boost our competitive position,” Chief Executive Officer Volkmar Denner said, adding that the use of semiconductors is growing as “connectivity and automation rise,” according to a report from Bloomberg news.
   Current competitors in the autonomous vehicle chip market, however, include tech giants like Intel, NVIDIA and Qualcomm, the latter of which recently acquired global semiconductor manufacturer NXP.