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Volkswagen fears production stoppages in the Chinese automotive industry due to the chip shortages.
(Photo: dpa)
Beijing, Hamburg, Munich The automotive industry is struggling with global bottlenecks in the supply of electronic components due to the aftermath of the Corona lockdown in spring. Since the auto industry is recovering faster than expected, especially in China after the pandemic has subsided, semiconductors in particular are becoming scarce, the supplier Continental said on Friday at the request of the Reuters news agency.
Volkswagen fears production stoppages in the Chinese automotive industry due to the bottlenecks. Because of the corona pandemic, the delivery of computer chips for certain electronic components has become unsafe, Volkswagen announced on request in China. This threatened interruptions in car production. The problem is exacerbated by the rapidly increasing demand for vehicles in the People’s Republic.
Conti explained that although the semiconductor manufacturers had already expanded their capacities due to the unexpected demand, the additional volumes would only be available in six to nine months due to the lead times in the industry. Therefore, delivery bottlenecks can also be expected in the coming year. The Dax group from Hanover is in close contact with its customers in order to find solutions. The VW subsidiary in China is also currently looking for ways out, together with the corporate headquarters in Wolfsburg and suppliers.
The world’s largest auto supplier Bosch said on request that it wasn’t just the auto industry that was affected. There is currently a shortage of certain semiconductor components worldwide. “No supplier can escape this market development.” Bosch is also looking for ways to maintain supply chains as much as possible.
The bottlenecks are extremely inconvenient for the entire industry as demand for cars is just picking up speed again. China is the largest market for Volkswagen. It is there that the world’s leading car group in terms of sales sells 40 percent of its vehicles. The Wolfsburg-based company produces cars for the Chinese market in joint ventures with partners SAIC, FAW and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile (JAC).
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