The shortage of semiconductors that plagued the automotive industry over the last two years is expected to remain well into 2023, said BMW boss Oliver Zipse today.
“We are still in the height of the chip shortage,” he told German newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung.
“I expect us to start seeing improvements at the latest next year, but we will still have to deal with a fundamental shortage in 2023.”
Despite supply chain issues the automotive maker grew in 2021, beating pre-pandemic earnings as a result of higher prices and a boom in sales.
The company, who went up to €16bn, reported a 10.3 per cent earning margins after it sold 2.5 million vehicles.
But it was forced to cut its 2022 profit margin forecast because of Ukraine war-induced supply chain disruptions, City A.M. reported.
BMW said its EBIT margin would go down from between 8 and 10 per cent to between 7 and 9.
In the UK, automotive production took a 41.3 per cent plunge as a result of chip shortages.
According to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) production went down to 61,657 units produced – the worst February since 2009.
“The sector entered 2022 hopeful for recovery, but that recovery has not yet begun, and urgent action is now needed to help mitigate spiralling energy costs and ensure the sector remains globally competitive to encourage the investment essential to growth, job security and the delivery of net zero ambitions,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.