, Columnist
Autos Are Driving in the Chip Industry's Blind Spot
Inflated hopes for smarter cars packed with semiconductors are another casualty of the coronavirus, as NXP results show.
Cars still need buyers, no matter how smart they are.
Photographer: Andreas Arnold/Bloomberg
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For years, technologists have been talking about smarter cars packed with sensors, chips and supercomputers that can replace human drivers.
That was enough to get investors excited about the future of automotive semiconductors. An earnings report from NXP Semiconductors NV late Monday reminds us of one slight flaw in the plan: People need to actually buy cars.