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Automakers to Battle Chip Crisis for Years, Consultancy Says

  • Severe shortage of semiconductors to last through 2022
  • Manufacturers should redesign cars to use fewer chips
A worker prepares the undercarriage of a Volkswagen AG ID.3 electric automobile in Dresden, Germany.

A worker prepares the undercarriage of a Volkswagen AG ID.3 electric automobile in Dresden, Germany.

Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg
From

Carmakers like Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co. should brace for the global semiconductor shortage to last beyond next year and redesign cars so they need fewer of the high-tech components, consultancy Roland Berger said.

Severe bottlenecks will persist through 2022, analysts at the Munich-based firm said, in a departure from many automakers hoping that the crisis would ease in the second half of next year. Capacity will remain constrained in the long term as chipmakers aren’t investing in additional supply to make the older semiconductors typically used in today’s models.