After COVID-19 production shortages began in early 2021, a new problem emerged for the automobile industry: a lack of microchips. Since then, the automobile industry has seen significant reductions in worldwide production, with some companies even delivering unfinished vehicles to meet a portion of the demand. Anyone who has ordered a new car sometime in the past year and a half has probably had to be patient longer than hoped. In that light, Carlos Tavares does not have good news for the coming period.
"The situation will remain very complicated until the end of 2023, then will ease a little," Tavares said in an interview to French newspaper Le Parisien, adding that "semiconductor manufacturers have an interest in making business with us again, especially as they're raising prices".
Murat Aksel, head of procurement on the Volkswagen board, previously made the same grim forecast for the microchip crisis in the automotive industry. German rival of Stellantis also expects that the chips will not appear in sufficient quantity until the end of 2023.