chip

Chip shortage impact remains ‘controlled’

By Betty C. Morrow 1 month ago

MILAN (AP) — The Stellantis automotive company created out of the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Peugeot reported Wednesday a 14% increase in first-quarter revenues, despite a drop in production due to the semiconductor shortage.

Stellantis revenues for the first three months of 2021 were 36.9 billion euros, compared with 32.4 billion euros ($44.42 billion) in the first three quarters of last year. The merger became formal on Jan. 17, 2021, creating the world’s fourth-largest carmaker, and the figures take into account the individual performances of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot in the preceding periods.

Lost production due to the global chip shortage for the period was 190,000 vehicles, Stellantis Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer said. Eight of the company’s 44 plants are currently affected, leading to reductions in shifts or vehicle lines. Palmer said the impact was likely higher in the second quarter but “is still very

… Read More

Rental Companies Buy Up Used Cars as Chip Crisis Get Worse

By Betty C. Morrow 1 month ago

The semiconductor shortage has slashed vehicle production so much that rental-car companies can’t get the new cars they need, so they have resorted to buying used vehicles at auction.

This is uncharted territory for the likes of Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Enterprise Holdings Inc., which have made their profits by purchasing new vehicles cheaply in bulk, renting them out for as much as a year and selling them at auction. In the past, they have bought some used cars to shore up an occasional unforeseen burst in demand, but rarely for the mainstays of their fleets.

“You would never go into auction to buy routine sedans and SUVs,” said Maryann Keller, an independent consultant who used to be on the board of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, which is now part of Hertz. “These are special circumstances. There is a shortage of cars.”

The demand is sending used-car costs

… Read More

Amazon warns against car industry getting special treatment in efforts to fix chip shortage

By Betty C. Morrow 2 months ago

Amazon has warned against the car industry receiving special treatment to address the chip shortage crisis that has shut factories around the world.

The technology giant told a review into Joe Biden’s plans to provide billions in subsidies for US chip manufacturing that a wide range of products from data centres to satellites were at risk from the shortage.

“Any government incentives and efforts to diversify the semiconductor supply chain should be made across the board, for access by and for the benefit of all users and customers of semiconductor technology,” the company said in its response to a consultation. 

“No single sector should be favoured over other sectors, as semiconductor technology underlies a large variety of industries.”

The Biden administration is proposing to spend $50bn (£36bn) in subsidies for chip research and manufacturing, an effort to ease the current shortage of chips and to ease reliance on Asia, where

… Read More

‘Like fire-fighting’: China carmakers struggle with chip shortage | Automotive Industry News

By Betty C. Morrow 2 months ago

Automakers around the world have had to adjust assembly lines due to chip shortages caused by high demand for cars.

Car industry executives are being rattled by a global shortage of semiconductors which is hitting production in China, after hoping the world’s biggest car market could spearhead global recovery in the sector.

Automakers around the world have had to adjust assembly lines due to the shortages, caused by manufacturing delays that some semiconductor makers blame on a faster-than-expected recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Volkswagen AG, China’s biggest foreign automaker which wants to sell more than four million vehicles in the country, said the effect of the shortage remains unabated in the second quarter this year.

Stephan Woellenstein, Volkswagen’s China chief, told reporters on Sunday it was hard to gauge how much production Volkswagen might lose week-to-week or even month-to-month because of the chip shortage.

“It’s really like fire-fighting … In

… Read More