VDL Nedcar stopped production last week due to chip shortages

Car factory VDL Nedcar in Born, Limburg, stopped production on Thursday due to chip shortages. The factory will open again on Monday and the backlog must be made up later in the year. The company anticipates more stops in the future.

The part that ran out is an ‘electronic component’, according to a spokesperson for VDL Nedcar against the NRC. Due to the shortage, three thousand employees were at home on Thursday and Friday. The part is apparently so important that the entire production stops because of it. The factory makes BMWs and Minis.

The chip shortages are partly due to the corona virus. Global lockdowns have dramatically increased the demand for chips for consoles, computers and servers. Uncertainty in chip deliveries has also made automakers, among others, hoarding chips, exacerbating shortages.

In addition, chip manufacturers are faced with other problems: the cold spell in Texas caused power failures at factories of NXP and Samsung. The Renesas factory in Japan was hit by an earthquake and then a fire. The largest chip maker, TSMC, is suffering from the ongoing drought in Taiwan. As a result, it has less water at its disposal to clean wafers.