Sources say Sony plans to invest billions of dollars to build a new factory in Kumamoto Prefecture to increase smartphone sensor production

CTOnews.com, December 16 (Xinhua) Sony Group is considering building a new factory in Kumamoto Prefecture to produce smartphone image sensors, the Nippon Keizai Shimbun reported on Thursday.

The company plans to break ground on the plant as soon as 2024 and start production as early as 2025, the report said, adding that the company expects the cost to reach billions of dollars.

Tuyuan UnsplashCTOnews.com has reported that Strategy Analytics's previously released "smartphone image sensor market share 2022 Q2: demand continues to weaken" pointed out that the total revenue of the global smartphone image sensor market in the first half of this year was $6.4 billion, with shipments down 11% from the same period last year.

Sony semiconductor solutions are said to top the list with a 44 per cent share of revenue, followed by Samsung's LSI and OMNIVISION. Sony, Samsung and OMNIVISION account for nearly 83 per cent of the global smartphone image sensor market.

At present, Sony is the leader in smart phone sensors and automotive sensors. In July, Nikkei said Sony would develop a new self-driving sensor that would save 70% of power consumption, help reduce the energy consumption of self-driving systems and extend the mileage of electric cars.

The sensor, made by Sony Semiconductor Solutions, will be used in conjunction with new software developed by Tier IV, a startup backed by Sompo Holdings. The two companies hope to achieve L4 automation technology by 2030.