Status: 07.10.2021 3:40 p.m.
The semiconductor crisis has the auto industry fully under control. The higher-priced brands in particular are still doing quite well. But there are also differences.
Automobile manufacturers are still being massively slowed down by the scarcity on the chip market. However, this has different effects on the manufacturers.
BMW sold around 593,000 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles in the third quarter, twelve percent fewer than in the same period last year. Because of the shortage of semiconductors, production was occasionally adjusted, the Munich-based company said. “Although the group has so far been able to cushion the effects of the bottlenecks over the entire year, effects on sales in the coming months cannot be ruled out,” it said. The Munich-based company is assuming that 80,000 to 100,000 cars cannot be built for the year as a whole due to the chip crisis.
In the first nine months, sales rose by 18 percent to a good 1.9 million vehicles. The increase was particularly noticeable in the case of electric cars: “Since the beginning of the year we have more than doubled sales of fully electric vehicles,” said Sales Director Pieter Nota. In total, the group sold almost 60,000 units. The driver here was the fully electric iX3 SUV.
Fewer cars aren’t bad either
Because the demand exceeds the supply and the delivery times are currently long, the carmakers hardly have to give discounts and on the other hand benefit from rising prices for new and used cars. BMW therefore raised its profit forecast for the current year last week.
Mercedes drives behind
In the case of the Stuttgart rival Mercedes-Benz, the problems of the industry are more clearly felt. Between July and September, the group had only sold 428,000 cars of the brand with the star worldwide. That was 30 percent less than in the same period last year. Despite robust global demand and strong incoming orders, the ongoing bottleneck in semiconductors has limited sales, it said. The shaky supply of semiconductors “is likely to have an impact on production and sales in the coming quarters as well,” warned the Stuttgart-based car company.
There were also significant declines in light commercial vehicles and the Smart brand. However, Mercedes was able to make gains in the top models such as the S-Class and also in electrified drives. Apparently, the manufacturer prioritizes the very expensive and high-margin luxury models in production.
In the year to date, Mercedes-Benz, including the Smart brand and small commercial vehicles, posted an increase of 3.8 percent to 1.86 million vehicles. Sales of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles at Mercedes-Benz rose in the first three quarters of the year to a record high of 184,000 units.
Waiting for Audi
As the third member of the group of upscale German car manufacturers, the Ingolstadt-based VW subsidiary Audi does not want to publish its sales figures until October 29th together with the financial figures.