Photo: Mercedes
We’ve known for a while that the chip shortage was here to stay, but when it comes to carmakers directly, the opinions in this regard have been fairly divided.
While some agreed that the crisis wouldn’t be over earlier than 2023 or, worse, 2024, others expected a substantial recovery this year ahead of a full return to normal only a few months later.
Mercedes doesn’t seem to believe that this optimistic scenario is really possible, as the company says through the voice of India Managing Director and CEO Martin Schwenk that guessing when the shortage could end is impossible.
However, the German carmaker does expect some improvements next year, but on the other hand, the next six to 12 months are critical for the way the world will advance towards the end of the chip shortage.
Indeed, based on the forecasts released by technology companies, the lack of semiconductors wouldn’t be resolved in full earlier than 2024. In theory, tech firms are the ones that should be able to predict the end of the crisis more accurately, especially as they have stronger ties with chipmakers in the first place.
Intel, for example, which is one of the largest companies involved in the production of chips, believes we’re only halfway through the crisis. In other words, carmakers still have some two more years of struggle before they can return to pre-2020 production levels and therefore be able to ship the ordered cars to customers in a timely fashion.
On the other hand, previous market forecasts suggested that all investments in capacity could lead to oversupply in 2023, especially once all the new production lines go live.
At the end of the day, it’s pretty clear that guessing when the crisis could end is still impossible, and if Mercedes is right, we should just see some signs of recovery next year ahead of a full improvement several months later.
Mercedes doesn’t seem to believe that this optimistic scenario is really possible, as the company says through the voice of India Managing Director and CEO Martin Schwenk that guessing when the shortage could end is impossible.
However, the German carmaker does expect some improvements next year, but on the other hand, the next six to 12 months are critical for the way the world will advance towards the end of the chip shortage.
Indeed, based on the forecasts released by technology companies, the lack of semiconductors wouldn’t be resolved in full earlier than 2024. In theory, tech firms are the ones that should be able to predict the end of the crisis more accurately, especially as they have stronger ties with chipmakers in the first place.
Intel, for example, which is one of the largest companies involved in the production of chips, believes we’re only halfway through the crisis. In other words, carmakers still have some two more years of struggle before they can return to pre-2020 production levels and therefore be able to ship the ordered cars to customers in a timely fashion.
On the other hand, previous market forecasts suggested that all investments in capacity could lead to oversupply in 2023, especially once all the new production lines go live.
At the end of the day, it’s pretty clear that guessing when the crisis could end is still impossible, and if Mercedes is right, we should just see some signs of recovery next year ahead of a full improvement several months later.
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