TAIPEI -- Since a 2016 acquisition of electronics group Sharp that raised eyebrows in Japan's guarded manufacturing sector, Taiwanese companies have widened their scope to the auto industry as they seek a shortcut to producing their own electric vehicles.
Taiwan's auto market is less than a tenth the size of Japan's, making it too shallow of a pool to raise big players. Instead, hopefuls like iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, and top contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. look to draw on know-how from larger Japan.
