Semiconductor shortages in the car industry: no end in sight
The automotive industry has been experiencing major supply chain disruptions in semiconductors, which nowadays are an essential part of automotive electronics, with the shortage expected to persist for the foreseeable future. This situation translates into a large number of unsold vehicles and eventually a reduction in the top line of car producers worldwide. According to AlixPartners, a US consulting firm, the crisis in the car industry will cost £80 billion (€93.6 billion) in revenue in 2021. In volume terms that’s 3.9 million unfinished cars globally. The crisis, in many aspects, is to a certain extent self-induced by the industry. Last year the pandemic brought car sales to a sudden halt. In Q2 of 2020, auto sales plummeted by as much as 80 per cent in Europe, 70 per cent in China, and almost 50 per cent in the United States. As a consequence, carmakers opted for prudence, and have cut back on their semiconductor orders worldwide, with semiconductor manufacturers being forced to find other avenues of sales from other sectors. Indeed, the shift to remote working drove up the demand for personal computers, servers, and equipment for remote communications significantly and the...