04 June 2022
17:06
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The world’s car and truck manufacturers are cautiously optimistic about the end of the scarcity of chips. A possible tipping point that comes earlier than expected.
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Since last year, almost all major car companies have had to shut down production lines on a regular basis due to the scarcity of chips. Now manufacturers are seeing the range expand again.
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Mercedes-Benz, Daimler Truck Holding and BMW, among others, say they have received enough electronic components to produce at full capacity. That tipping point comes earlier than the companies themselves predicted. At the same time, they warn that there is still a chance that shortages will disrupt production again.
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“We are still monitoring it on a weekly basis, but we really don’t have any problems keeping production going globally now,” says Jörg Burzer, responsible for production and supply chains at Mercedes-Benz. Occasionally there are still disruptions, ‘but that is nothing compared to last year’.
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BMW is also more positive and says all factories are running. “At the moment the situation is somewhat more stable,” said a spokesperson. The German concern cannot rule out the possibility that there will still be disruptions in the coming weeks due to shortages.
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trucks
The truck manufacturers are also seeing the sky gradually clearing. Karin Rådström, head of the Mercedes brand at Daimler Truck, says it is better than last year ‘but not yet perfect’. DAF announces that the supply of parts is better than expected five weeks ago. ‘In the US and Europe we are able to manufacture faster’, it sounds.
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The increased availability of chips is partly due to a weaker economic outlook due to high inflation, the war in Ukraine and interest rate hikes. This depresses the demand for consumer electronics such as smartphones and laptops, in which many semiconductors are processed.
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Although not every car manufacturer notices this. For example, Volvo Trucks says it has only limited availability of chips. This will have an impact on the results for the second quarter.
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