Audi manager expects ongoing chip shortage in German car industry

BERLIN – Semiconductor shortages that have created bottlenecks for Germany’s car industry will take years to resolve despite chipmakers’ plans to build factories in the country, a senior Audi manager was quoted as saying on Friday.

German automakers and electronics producers have been hit hard by manufacturing delays, caused by a global shortfall of chips. Executives and policymakers are re-thinking supply lines and trying to reduce reliance on a handful of Asian and U.S. chip suppliers.

Berlin has been courting the world’s largest contract chipmakers with billions of euros in subsidies. Chipmakers such as America’s Intel and Taiwan’s TSMC this year announced plans to build factories in Germany.

“It takes years, after all. It’s about billions of dollars are being invested,” Renate Vachenauer, head of procurement at Volkswagen-owned Audi, was quoted as saying by Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

Vachenauer said carmakers could ease the bottlenecks by reducing the varieties of chips used from the 8,000 different types in vehicles today.

“We have to use many levers to stabilize the supply of semiconductors and also stock up on the broker market to some extent,” she added.

Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Cynthia Osterman