Volkswagen: "Semiconductor Chip Supply Shortage to Last Several More Months"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] German automaker Volkswagen has forecast that the industry disruption caused by the shortage of automotive semiconductors will continue for several more months.

Volkswagen's brand CEO Ralf Brandst?tter said in an interview with German news agency dpa on the 2nd (local time) that the semiconductor supply situation is "still tight" and that "it is expected that the (semiconductor chip supply) situation will somewhat ease only in the second half of the year."

Brandst?tter emphasized, "Securing semiconductor chips remains the top priority issue for Volkswagen's management."

The supply shortage of automotive semiconductor chips, which had been struggling due to the shutdown of major semiconductor production plants in Texas, USA, has been prolonged by a fire accident at Renesas Electronics, Japan's third-largest global supplier of automotive semiconductors.

The Renesas Naka plant, where the fire occurred this time, also suspended operations for about three months during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, causing significant damage to automobile production.

Meanwhile, on the same day, CEO Herbert Diess announced in an interview with the media the day before that Volkswagen plans to develop semiconductor chips for autonomous vehicles in-house. He suggested plans to develop chips for autonomous vehicles by stating, "For a car to achieve optimal performance, the automaker must control both software and hardware."

CEO Diess explained, "We do not plan to manufacture automotive semiconductor chips ourselves, but we intend to secure related patents." Volkswagen has been focusing on autonomous driving technology development, including establishing the autonomous driving subsidiary 'Volkswagen Autonomy' in 2019.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.