The situation is explosive: the car companies are losing out on billions worldwide, even though demand for cars is high. But manufacturers can only build half-finished models en masse – because there is a shortage of semiconductors. This drives many companies to drastic steps.
Many manufacturers are stockpiling their cars – until there is a supply of semiconductor chips.
It’s absurd: german carmakers could celebrate huge sales- but they simply cannot build models that are in demand. Because there is still a lack of important electronic components: semiconductors are in short supply, and without microchips, which are installed en masse in modern cars, the cars remain unfinished.
In the meantime, the car companies are talking about "stockpile production". In concrete terms, this means that car parts and semi-finished models have to be temporarily stored until chip supplies arrive. When this will happen but no one is quite sure. To a certain extent, the problems at the carmakers are also homemade. In the corona year 2020, many of the companies had suspended production, and short-time work was the order of the day. Most of the companies have decided not to purchase components such as semiconductor chips naturally also for reasons of economy.
Auto industry in trouble: semiconductor problem is homemade
In the meantime, the supply bottlenecks caused by the corona pandemic are becoming increasingly noticeable. Manufacturers from other industries smartphone, television, laptop production have in the meantime bought the scarce raw materials from under the noses of the carmakers; their products were in extreme demand last year in particular. The carmakers are looking down the tube- while prices in the entire electronics industry are rising massively. people don’t buy according to cost considerations, they buy from the supplier who can deliver, no matter at what price.
Car manufacturers produce in stockpiles
In daimler’s truck division, for example, there is currently a considerable stock of trucks in production for which essential parts are still missing, as a spokesman explained.
„these vehicles are urgently needed by our customers. We would also like to deliver them, but we are waiting for the appropriate parts.", according to daimler.
Among other things, the large truck plant in Worth, Rhineland-Palatinate, is affected. At mercedes-benz, it is said that temporary storage is quite normal, for example during the introduction of new models or before subsequent transport, according to a spokeswoman. However, the current situation could indeed be characterized by an "increased demand" are being spoken of. „There are logistics areas around the world that mercedes-benz is using for temporary storage of vehicles as part of a planned operation.“
In fact, it happens time and again that excess cars accumulate in the plants or in specially rented parking areas. This is nothing new and happens, for example, when there is an economic downturn in sales, such as after the financial crisis in 2008. Only: the demand is there, the sales could be right- they just can’t deliver the vehicles in sufficient numbers and in a timely manner. Commercial vehicle manufacturer traton, which owns MAN, scania and navistar, is also familiar with the phenomenon and does not expect the situation to ease quickly. There will probably be electronics bottlenecks by 2022, it is said- other manufacturers expect problems until 2024.
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VW: retrofitting vehicles
Europe’s industry leader volkswagen acts similarly to competitor daimler. The individual brands are taking advantage of every opportunity for production, it is said. „This also includes the possibility of initially building unfinished vehicles in order to upgrade them immediately as soon as the relevant semiconductors and components are available again.“ but this is only an option if the additional cost is not too high go to. „For each brand, there are concrete plans for the completion of the vehicles so that they can be successively handed over to the trade and to our customers as quickly as possible.“
At the same time, the chip bottleneck is also slowing down current production, with more short-time work to follow. At VW’s main plant in Wolfsburg, only one assembly line can be worked in a single shift this week until Thursday. BMW, too, has vehicles that cannot be completed. According to a spokeswoman, the company reacts quickly to components that become available at short notice so that the cars can then be produced quickly.
Auto industry to miss out on 180 billion euros in revenue
According to an estimate by the consulting firm alix partners, the global auto industry could lose a good 180 billion euros in revenue in 2021. Quite a few manufacturers prioritize production accordingly and finish the expensive, high-priced models first, where the margin is particularly favorable.