Volkswagen to keep up production next week despite chip shortages
German carmaker Volkswagen is not planning to halt production at its German plants next week, the auto giant said on Friday, after sparking fears that production might be forced to a standstill amid the ongoing chip crisis at supplier Nexperia.
“The supply bottlenecks at Dutch chip manufacturer Nexperia are not currently having any impact on production at Volkswagen’s vehicle manufacturing plants in Germany,” a Volkswagen spokesman said.
“As things stand today, production at all other German production sites of the Volkswagen Group is also guaranteed for the coming week,” he said, adding that this also applies to the subsidiaries Audi and Porsche.
It comes after Volkswagen floated potential production stops on Wednesday, saying they might be implemented at short notice.
Nexperia is experiencing supply problems after the Dutch government took control of the company, which was previously managed by a Chinese parent corporation.
In response, China halted the export of Nexperia products, such as chips for the automotive industry.
Earlier on Friday, German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said Berlin had contacted China’s commerce minister to push for a resumption of chip exports in a bid to resolve the shortages.
Volkswagen’s Christian Vollmer, the board member responsible for Brand Production, expressed confidence on Thursday that production stoppages could still be averted. He told the Handelsblatt business newspaper that the carmaker was in talks with a potential replacement supplier who could compensate for the loss of Nexperia semiconductors.
A spokesman added that Volkswagen was in close contact with potential suppliers.
