Chip shortage: The auto industry has gambled away trust

ID.3 production by Volkswagen

Many production lines are currently standing still because the automotive industry lacks semiconductors.

(Photo: dpa)

Dusseldorf The automotive industry has vastly miscalculated. Actually, everything should be fine in the vehicle factory by now. No shortage of chips, enough parts, normal operation and regular utilization – these were the statements made by the most important industry representatives even before the summer break.

Unfortunately, not much has come of the announcements. Little has changed in the factories over the summer either. Because the semiconductors are still missing, hardly a week goes by without the next break in production somewhere in Germany.

Automobile manufacturers should take current developments to heart – and be a little more careful with their promises in the future. Credibility is a noble good. Even after the diesel crisis, confidence in the industry had suffered a lot.

The auto industry is not just made up of big automakers. Rather, the industry is an association in which the suppliers are also very important. With the misguided announcements that everything will be all right again in the car factories in autumn, the manufacturers have just put the suppliers on the wrong track.

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Small businesses don’t have the reserves like an auto company. For a supplier, the chip can quickly turn into an existential crisis. Especially if they have invested too much in new capacities, relying on the announcements made by the car manufacturers.

Customers wait a long time for their new cars

Customers and investors will also wonder what they think of the automaker’s announcements. Customers who were promised the delivery of a new car, but who now have to wait maybe six months for a car.

Investors who have bet on an automotive upswing will be annoyed. Take Traton, for example: VW’s truck division will probably have to lower its profit expectations by 20 percent due to a lack of chips. Nothing has come of the rising returns.

With the switch to electromobility, the automotive industry is experiencing a major change. But many customers are not yet convinced of this. The lesson from the semiconductor crisis can only be that automakers are cautious when making announcements for electromobility. After all, what good does it do them if nobody buys e-cars?

More: VW truck subsidiary Traton feels a lack of chips

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