The automotive industry was severely hampered by a shortage of semiconductor chips in 2021, with impacts further exacerbated by the pandemic.
Several manufacturers are still feeling the strain, with many believing supply issues will continue to affect the industry well into 2022.
However, many have now moved to agree significant deals with large electronics manufacturers to ensure a consistent supply of semiconductors well into the future.
The shortage of semiconductors initially stemmed from increased demand for personal computers, tablets and smartphones at the height of the pandemic, which largely diverted supply away from the automotive sector, and it now extends to Covid-related closures at semiconductor factories and international shipping ports.
Previously, Autocar reported that a number of manufacturers were urgently seeking to overhaul their components supply chains as a workaround to ensure continued production.
Tech firms meanwhile are investing heavily into semiconductor production. Toshiba will invest around £737 million ($1.09 billion) to increase its production capacity by almost double, building a new factory in Japan, which is due to open in March 2025.
BMW
BMW signed a semiconductor supply deal with Inova Semiconductors and Global Foundries in December last year.
The deal will secure a supply of “several million microchips per year”. It says the chips will be used for smart LED lighting technologies in the BMW iX and other upcoming cars.
“We're deepening our partnership with suppliers at key points in the supplier network and synchronising our capacity planning directly with semiconductor manufacturers and developers,” said Andreas Wendt, BMW’s head of purchasing and supplier network.
“This improves planning reliability and transparency around the volumes needed for everyone involved and secures our needs for the long term."
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No menton of the fact that Tesla re-wrote software in order to utilise chips that were in stronger supply. Probably because that would expose the fact that Autocar advertisers, the legacy carmakers, don't have the expertise to do things like that. The other issue that this article ignores is 'Osborne's Law'. This is the phenomenon whereby buyers put off buying a product because they are waiting for a better version to arrive on the market. Thousands of people are now waiting for the right EV to arrive for their needs and they are not going to waste their money on another obsolete ICE car. This is a serious problem for legacy automakers.
And, Who is really benefitting from this just now?, and why didn't they see this coming?
Automobile manufacturers across the globe have anticipated huge earnings cut due to chip shortages in the automotive industry and adopted drastic measures to cope up with the situation.