Skoda to halt production at Czech plants due to chip shortage

Czech automaker Skoda Auto, part of the Volkswagen group, will put a temporary stop at production at its domestic plants for a week at the end of September because of chip shortages.

In the Czech Republic, production has been hit in the auto sector.

Skoda has thousands of cars unfinished as it waits for chips.

The head of Skoda’s union, Jaroslav Povsik, informed a union newsletter that cancelled shifts will be added to planned holidays on September 27-28 to mark a state holiday.

“This way we will shut down production the entire week,” he said. “The reason is the continuing shortage of parts, mainly chips.”

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.