Home ›› 29 Oct 2021 ›› World Biz
The global semiconductor chip shortage cost Volkswagen and Stellantis a combined 1.4 million vehicles in lost production in the third quarter, Europe’s two biggest carmakers said on Thursday, though both reported some early signs of improvement.
Volkswagen AG, Europe’s top car company and also the world’s No. 2, cut its outlook for deliveries, toned down sales expectations and warned of cost cuts as it reported lower-than-expected quarterly operating profit. The German company said it had made around 800,000 fewer cars, or about 35 per cent less than in the same quarter in 2020.
Stellantis, the world’s fourth largest automaker, posted a 14 per cent fall in pro-forma quarterly revenue after chip shortages cut planned quarterly production by 30 per cent, or 600,000 vehicles.
Stellantis finance chief Richard Palmer reported a “moderate” improvement in chip supply in October, and expected that to continue through the fourth quarter. But he added supply chain problems meant it was hard to make predictions about the scarcity of automotive semiconductors, which has plagued the industry for most of the year.
“Visibility on semiconductors continues to be a difficult subject for the industry,” Palmer said.
Carmakers, which shuttered plants as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold last year, have found themselves competing against the sprawling consumer electronics industry for chip supplies.
Supply chain snarls from a fire at a chip-making plant in Japan to coronavirus lockdowns in Malaysia, central to global chip supplies, have only compounded the industry’s problems.
The shortage of chips, used in everything from brake sensors to power steering to entertainment systems, has led automakers around the world to cut or suspend production.
