Volkswagen sees global chip shortage to continue into 2022

The global semiconductor chip shortage will run well into 2022 according to Scott Keogh, Volkswagen Group of America’s Cheif Executive.

Keogh said it at the Reuters Events Automotive Summit.

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.

Keogh said that while the issue may ease in the fourth quarter of this year, it won’t be enough to meet the demand.

He said one likely shift in the near future is that automakers will try to decrease the number of chips required in each part of the vehicles.