Global semiconductor shortages are not over, says Volkswagen
The global automotive industry is not yet out of the woods as semiconductor shortages are expected to continue this year, according to Volkswagen.
“The volatile situation will affect us at least beyond the first half of this year. We must continue to fight for every part” said Murat Aksel, Volkswagen’s board member and head of procurement, during an interview with German car magazine Automobilwoche.
Aksel added that supply chain issues might slightly ease in the second half of the year but structural problems and the increasing levels of demand will make predictions inaccurate until 2023.
The board member’s comments come amid reports that Volkswagen was forced to reduce production forecasts for 2022, after it cut down its 2021 predictions from 9.3 to 9 million vehicles produced, CityAM reported.
“We expect to be occupied with this crisis for months on end in the coming year,” a spokesperson of Volkswagen’s subsidiary Audi told Reuters in mid-December. “The scarcity could extend for even longer.”
The global automotive market has been quite hard by ongoing supply chain issues, especially in the second half of the year. According to GlobalData, the global light vehicle production amounted to 79.9 million units in 2021, 4 million below demand.
In the UK, 2021 was considered a “dismal year” for automotive production, as output fell 6.7 per cent to less than 860,000 units – the worst since 1956 according to Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) data.
In January, British car production was still 22.9 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels.