BMW: Delivery problems due to lack of chips - customer experiences disappointment
Created: 03/22/2022, 2:30 p.m
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
A BMW customer only found out when the new car was handed over that his car did not have the equipment he had ordered.
© Sina Schuldt/dpa
The lack of chips continues to be a major problem for the automotive industry: a BMW customer only found out when the new car was handed over that his car did not have the equipment he had ordered.
Munich - The lack of chips has the car industry under control.
The Ukraine war has added supply chain problems.
If you order a new car, you have to be prepared for long waiting times.
But customers who bought a new car last year are also confronted with the effects of the chip shortage.
New BMW without a touchscreen - no advance warning for customers
As early as last November, the Munich-based carmaker BMW* was forced to replace the touchscreen on some models with a conventional screen without a touch function.
This was reported, among other things, by
Auto Motor und Sport
.
In Europe and the USA, the 3 Series sedan, 4 Series coupé, convertible and Gran Coupé (except i4), Z4, X5, X6 and X7 models are affected.
Customers whose car cannot be delivered as requested will be informed by the BMW dealers.
In one case, that probably didn't happen: The technology portal
Golem
reports on the customer Harald S. from Düren in North Rhine-Westphalia, who ordered a BMW Z4 M40i last November and was disappointed when he picked up the car.
The dealer explained to the buyer at the handover that the BMW does not have the touchscreen that was actually ordered.
According to the report, the so-called reversing assistant also does not work.
The customer received a gross credit of over 500 euros, but in retrospect would have preferred to wait to place the order.
BMW informed
Golem
that there would be a retrofit solution for the affected cars "on request", but did not commit to a specific date.
The technology portal expressed astonishment - because touchscreens are now available again for new BMW cars.
BMW: record profit despite delivery problems
Apparently, the chip and delivery issues didn't hurt BMW's earnings last year.
The carmaker was even able to triple it.
The bottom line was 12.5 billion euros, a new record and 223 percent more than in 2020. Sales increased by twelve percent to 111.2 billion euros, sales by 8.4 percent.
The proportion of "vehicles with high sales" has increased, BMW said in March.
BMW saved costs "in the high three-digit million range", for example due to the lower number of employees compared to the previous year and a "modernization" of the old-age provision.
The car company spent more on raw materials and also on research and development.
The group did not address the consequences of the Ukraine war in its balance sheet report.
Deliveries for car companies from Ukraine have already been interrupted because of the war.
Wiring harnesses from a company in the Ukraine are missing at BMW;
At the plant in Dingolfing, Bavaria, production was at a standstill, but it is scheduled to start again this week.
With material from AFP *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
