Volkswagen does not expect the global semiconductor shortage to end this year, although it is expected to ease further in the second half of the year, a board member told Automobilwoche magazine.
“The volatile situation will affect us at least after the first half,” Murat Aksel, head of purchasing on Volkswagen’s board, said in an interview.
Automakers around the world have been hit by a semiconductor shortage caused by supply chain disruptions during the health crisis, as well as growing demand for semiconductors from consumer electronics companies.
Aksel said there are clear structural problems, with defined demand expected to continue to rise in the auto industry. So the focus will be on working collaboratively with suppliers to ensure better availability, he said.
It should become easier to make reliable forecasts in 2023, when more semiconductor production capacity comes on stream, the executive said.
Semiconductor chips are essential for cutting-edge technology products, from computers to cars to 5G. The explosion in demand for tablets, cell phones and TVs, motivated by the remote work of a large part of the population during the pandemic, is one of the main causes for the imbalance in the chain.
At the same time, there was a disruption in global supply chains after the global industry shutdown in the first half of 2020, which caused a huge disruption in global logistics, affecting all sectors, from importers such as automakers and the textile industry to protein exports.
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