The lack of supplies is putting a strain on the automotive industry at an extremely inopportune time. It is in the midst of a comprehensive shift towards electromobility and suffered significant sales losses in the corona crisis. As a result, important production capacities in the semiconductor sector were lost to competing industries. And now that the demand for cars is picking up again, the chips are missing.
The semiconductor shortage is exacerbated by the current cold disaster in Texas. The unusually low temperatures in the south of the USA have caused large-scale power outages and are hindering chip production there. Next Samsung and NXP is also the German chip manufacturer Infineon active in the region of the Texas capital Austin. After a warning from the electricity supplier, those responsible were able to shut down production just in time on Tuesday before a sudden power failure would have permanently damaged the production facilities.
Due to the failure in Texas, the shortage of microcontrollers and semiconductors for power electronics is now exacerbated, so that many customers will probably have to wait longer for their new car. “We have a shortage,” said Achim Berg, President of the digital association Bitkom, on Thursday at an online press conference.
The semiconductor industry is on the list of digital products and services for which German industry as a whole is dependent on deliveries from abroad to a dangerous extent, but not at the top. The digital association Bitkom asked companies in Germany about this. The entrepreneurs see the dependency on IT and communication hardware, 5G mobile communications and artificial intelligence as the strongest.
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Even beyond possible delivery bottlenecks, this general dependency on imports of digital technologies gives those responsible in the company headaches, because digital imports are of existential importance for the German economy. The representative survey of 1,100 companies showed that 94 percent of them depend on it. “A large majority of companies in Germany consider themselves to be only able to survive for a short time if digital technologies or services can suddenly no longer be obtained from abroad,” said Berg.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that German business’s trust in the USA, a key player in the international IT industry, is now comparatively low. Only 39 percent of German entrepreneurs have “great confidence” in the USA as a business location. China (31 percent) and Russia (15 percent) are viewed with even more skepticism. But among the EU countries, the confidence level is a proud 89 percent, followed by Japan (61 percent) and Great Britain (59 percent).
The Bitkom President demanded that the German economy must free itself from unhealthy dependencies and develop more independence. “It’s about helping to shape key digital technologies, business models and ecosystems at eye level in the future.” Berg spoke out against trade barriers. State funding for research and development is desirable. Existing skills should be strengthened. “For example, we are very good at autonomous driving.” There are also great strengths in IT security and artificial intelligence, as well as in medicine.
But even if the demands of the digital association were implemented quickly, there would hardly be any change in the dependence on digital technology from abroad in the short term. In order to meet the increased demand for semiconductors, for example, new capacities have to be built up – and that takes time.
In addition, automobile manufacturers in particular are faced with the challenge of being perceived by the chip industry as a relevant customer for whom it is worthwhile to expand new capacities. The iPhone manufacturer alone consumes this Apple about as many microprocessors as the entire auto industry. Only companies from the USA, South Korea and China are on the list of the top chip buyers worldwide by market researcher Gartner.
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