Mercedes has been hit this quarter by factory shutdowns in Malaysia, which in recent years emerged as a major center for chip testing and packaging. Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV and STMicroelectronics NV are among the key suppliers operating plants in the country.
There is hope that the situation starts to ease in the fourth quarter, Kallenius said, though he anticipates fallout from a “structural” demand issue also will influence industries in 2022. A Japanese chipmaker that supplies to Toyota Motor Corp. similarly predicted last month that the supply crunch could last through all of next year.
“Semiconductor supply remains very volatile and tight in the third quarter, but we hope for a gradual recovery by the end of the year,” VW purchasing chief Murat Aksel told reporters late Sunday. The auto industry worldwide would need roughly 10% more production capacity for chips, he said.
Photo credit: Mercedes
