Potential gas freeze
A Russian gas supply freeze could also affect the industry in unpredictable ways, despite the best efforts of automakers to save energy or obtain it from other sources, Reimold said.
“The chain always breaks at the weakest link,” he said. “Some areas are particularly dependent on gas, such as glass production.”
Time and again in recent months, automakers have had to interrupt production or even shut it down completely due to a shortage of components.
Porsche delivered 145.860 vehicles to customers in 2022 in the first half of the year. This represents a decline of five percent compared to the same period last year.
The tense situation on the semiconductor market is compounded by planning problems due to the recent COVID-19 lockdowns in China and the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
Experts at the data service provider IHS Markit believe that German automakers alone will be able to produce 700,000 fewer cars this year than originally planned.
Parts shortages and higher commodity prices are also putting a financial squeeze on Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers, in some cases forcing them to go to their Tier 1 customers to renegotiate pricing or ask for a cash infusion.