Volkswagen has warned that its annual profits are likely to be affected by the ongoing shortage of chips as other European carmakers also caution that production could soon be disrupted.
While recent cost-cutting measures and the launch of new models had helped offset a decline in Chinese demand, the situation has worsened following new export restrictions.
Beijing recently banned Nexperia from exporting its chips after the Dutch government took control of the company’s headquarters in the Netherlands and suspended its Chinese CEO in September, following concerns raised by Washington over national security.
Volkswagen sold 6.6 million vehicles in the first nine months of the year and had initially forecast profit margins of between 2% and 3%. However, rising US tariffs and the chip shortage are now expected to lower those projections.
Arno Antlitz, Volkswagen’s chief financial officer, said on Thursday that the shortage was not “a technical shortfall or a capacity shortfall. It’s really induced by political discussion, and this is where we hope that all the relevant parties sit together and find solutions.”
Earlier this week, carmakers represented by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) warned that production stoppages could be imminent.
