The global microchip shortage continues to wreak havoc across the industry, and if there's any consensus, it's that the situation will get even worse before it starts to get better. Many experts are not predicting a return to normal until 2023.
Some manufacturers have been affected quickly while others have been spared for longer, but all will eventually suffer the effects of the parts shortage. Toyota, for example, had dodged the bullet, but this month its production is down. We have seen several of GM’s and Ford’s factories go idle for limited periods.
This time, Mercedes-Benz has acknowledged that it is expecting some difficult months ahead. The company revealed to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) that customer waiting times for some models could reach more than a year.
“Demand is huge at Mercedes-Benz and at the same time there are unfortunately severe limitations. For some models the waiting times are longer than we would like, in some cases over a year.”
- Daimler CEO Ola Källenius, to FAZ (as reported by Reuters)
Källenius also reiterated what we’ve heard elsewhere, which is that the global chip shortage could last until early 2023, although he believes the impact on vehicle production should be less severe next year.
And all of this, it should be remembered, is a direct consequence of the pandemic that disrupted production by manufacturers and suppliers, and consumers’ buying habits.