The chip crisis sends the auto industry into crisis
The components supply chain, which in Italy has a significant weight, is starting to have difficulties and there are fears of significant drops in employment
Toyota had to cut September production by 40%, in the Volkswagen group the Wolfsburg plant, the largest in the world and which employs about 60,000 people, has restarted with a single shift for just five days a week.
The absence of semiconductors on the market - the brain of every technological object - is causing a historical shock in the automotive industry, which was recovering after the long months of lockdown that had caused production and sales to collapse. And after all, the weight of electronics in new generation cars is about 60%. Without a microchip, today, you can't go anywhere.
And if the leaders of the global market cry, everyone else too - from General Motors to Hyundai to Stellantis - suffers and begins to reduce production. As a result, the entire chain of automotive components, which in Italy has a significant weight, is starting to have difficulties and there are fears of significant falls in employment.
General Motors reduced the hours of the 5,000 assembly workers of the Ford Fiesta, Audi extended the summer holidays and cut production in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm, Stellantis, shut down the Rennes plant entirely and partially the Sochaux plant. In Italy, the trade unions sound the alarm: "The Pomigliano plant that should have been restarted has remained closed and the electronic component supply crisis will now hit other plants, starting with Sevel, in Abruzzo", denounced Michele De Palma, national secretary Fiom-Cgil.
But what does the chip crisis depend on? According to leading analysts, the main cause is the cut in production decided at the beginning of the pandemic by most of the companies that produce them. At the same time, the demand for semiconductors for laptops, tablets, TVs, consoles and smartphones has grown exponentially, the sale of which has boomed all over the world in the last 18 months while car manufacturers in the hardest period of the pandemic had almost eliminated the 'activities. So microchips have been grabbed by consumer electronics companies, which have flexible and lean supply chains, and car manufacturers are left with just the crumbs.
Now everyone realizes that it is necessary to invest in this sector to build new factories that make car manufacturers more independent but the necessary investments are enormous, exceeding 10 billion for a single plant.
In the United States, the Biden government has set up a task force for months and is preparing an investment plan of 150 billion dollars which, however, will not produce effects for two to three years. The CEOs of Intel and Stmicroelectronics, the shortage is not destined to resolve before 2023. And in the meantime the whole world will continue to depend on Korea, Taiwan and China.
One of the immediate effects is the increase in the prices of microchips. The largest producer in the world, Tsmc, has raised prices by up to 20% and this is likely to cause higher prices on final products.
According to AutoForecast Solutions experts, the overall cut in 2021 will be 7.1 million vehicles. Renault alone expects the lack of semiconductors to cost the company about 200,000 vehicles this year. The other manufacturers have yet to decide but it is certain that for those who will have to buy a car in the coming months, especially if they do not choose a model already present in the dealership, they will have to wait a long time.
