New EV models are offsetting a slump in demand but Europe’s carmakers are bracing for shutdowns
Volkswagen has signalled that its annual profit targets are at risk without sufficient computer chips, in the latest sign that an expected shortage of semiconductors from China could hit carmakers across Europe.
The struggling German automotive firm said a series of cost cuts and new model launches were helping to offset a slump in Chinese demand, but it added that forecasts were based on the “adequate availability of semiconductors”.
Carmakers in the EU have said they may have to close production lines amid dwindling supplies of chips from Nexperia, the Chinese-owned producer.
Beijing banned exports from Nexperia after the Dutch government took over the company, which is based in the Netherlands, at the end of September and suspended its Chinese chief executive after the US raised security concerns.
