Enlarge image
Mini factory in Oxford: No cars without microchips
Photo: GEOFF CADDICK/ AFP
Maximum deficiency in the Mini: Because there are no semiconductors, the production of the small car in Oxford, England, is on hold.
As the BMW subsidiary announced this Wednesday, production has been suspended since Monday and should remain closed up to and including Friday.
"We are monitoring the situation very closely and are in constant contact with our business partners and suppliers," the statement said.
The mini-factory was already closed last spring due to the lack of semiconductors, but only for three days.
Chip shortage is a common problem
The chip shortage affects most manufacturers and has been for months.
It is considered the main reason why fewer new cars were registered in the European Union last year than in 2020. The number of new registrations fell by 2.4 percent to 9.7 million cars in 2021, according to the European industry association Acea in Brussels.
The year before, the pandemic had already led to a record slump in the car market.
The chip shortage also has a lot to do with the pandemic.
Global supply chains have been permanently disrupted by corona failures in important production facilities or transshipment ports.
Last summer, among other things, factories of Audi and Opel's parent company Stellantis had to close temporarily, and production at Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz was curtailed.
Even Toyota was affected, after the Japanese group had come through the chip crisis better than many of its competitors in the first half of the year thanks to its own warehousing.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck is therefore aiming to locate more semiconductor production facilities in Germany.
In this way, investments in German chip factories could soon be subsidised.
The goal is to become less dependent on Asian imports in this area.
However, setting up chip production is very expensive.
mamk/dpa