Volkswagen expects to produce even fewer cars in 2022 compared to the current year due to the continued shortage of semiconductors according to a report by Manager Magazin on Thursday.
The report cited people familiar with the matter.
The automaker has reduced its forecast for 2021 vehicle deliveries last week to 9 million from 9.3 million and is now preparing for the possibility that the ongoing chips shortage could last until at least early 2023.
In the worst-case scenario, deliveries could decline to 8 million cars in 2022 – but even if things go relatively well, deliveries could be slightly below 2021’s, the report said.
Volkswagen declined to comment on the report, saying it expected a slight easing of the supply situation in 2022 but that the first half of 2022 would remain very volatile.
The chip shortage, which has hit automakers worldwide, emerges from a confluence of factors as automakers, which closed plants for two months during the coronavirus pandemic last year, rival against the sprawling consumer electronics industry for chip supplies. A factory fire suffered by Japanese chipmaker Renesas this year is also cited as a reason behind the chip shortage.
