Canon to build another CMOS Sensor Plant

This news article first discovered by digicame-info by newswitch.jp is that Canon will create another CMOS sensor plant alongside the other two CMOS sensor plants that Canon has in Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture.  It's been a long time since Canon has added to its CMOS sensor fabrication capability, as Canon last built a CMOS sensor fabrication plant in 2007.

I'm curious as to why Canon needs a third plant.  At its maximum, Canon's previous two plants handled CMOS sensor fabrication nearly 5 times as great as the need for CMOS sensors today.   Canon could be using their own sensors more in their own security and medical systems.  As well, Canon could be forecasting a major increase in the number of sensors it sells to others.   Many of Canon's sensor designs seem to be focused lately on automotive applications, so it could be that Canon expects growth in this area now that they can produce their own stacked full-frame and other sized sensors. 

The cost of the plant is expected to be 21 billion yen (around $184 million USD) and it's supposed to also introduce a new factory automation system.  The plant is expected to start operation around July 2023.

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