Letter to Taiwan: Federal government intervenes in chip crisis

Letter to Taiwan
Federal government intervenes in chip crisis

German carmakers are currently having to cut production in many ways. The reason is the lack of computer chips. The problem has now also reached the federal government. The appeals to the government in Taiwan and advocates building capacities in this country.

In view of acute supply bottlenecks in computer chips for the automotive industry, the federal government of Taiwan is asking for help. In a letter to his colleague Wang Mei-hua, Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier emphasizes the importance of the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC as a central supplier to German car manufacturers. They are already talking to TSMC to find a solution. The aim is to enable additional capacities and deliveries of semiconductors in the short and medium term.

"I would be delighted if you could take on this concern and underline the importance of additional semiconductor capacities for the German automotive industry to TSMC", Altmaier writes. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is one of the world's largest chip manufacturers.

The bottlenecks in computer chips are increasingly causing problems for the German automotive industry. More and more car manufacturers have to stop the production lines and send thousands of employees on short-time work: Daimler and Volkswagen in particular are affected.

With computer chip supply bottlenecks in many states, Taiwan said it had asked technology firms based in the country for "full support". TSMC said the company is working closely with customers in the auto industry to resolve delivery issues. This has "top priority".

Report: VW wants compensation

For Volkswagen, according to a statement by the group, the top priority is also to minimize the effects of the semiconductor bottleneck on production. "This happens in close cooperation with our suppliers based on partnership." In order to come to terms with the current situation, however, it will also be necessary to examine "claims in exchange with suppliers".

According to the industry newspaper "Automobilwoche", the examination extends to claims for damages against the suppliers Bosch and Continental, which in turn are dependent on supplies from Asia. VW is now also talking to possible alternative suppliers in order to eliminate the chip deficiency. Volkswagen Bosch and Continental want to share in the resulting additional costs.

Continental declined to comment. Bosch stated that the focus is currently on maintaining the supply chains as much as possible despite the tense situation in the market: "We will discuss all aspects of the semiconductor bottleneck directly with our customers and suppliers in due course."

Manufacturers serve new customers

A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin emphasized that in the medium term it was "important and decisive" to expand capacities in Germany and Europe. The Ministry is therefore committed to expanding funding in the field of microelectronic communication technologies and thus to strengthening "digital sovereignty" and maintaining the competitiveness of the European economy.

The reason for the chip slack is – in addition to the consequences of the pandemic – the trade war with China sparked by the outgoing US President Donald Trump. As a result, the Chinese semiconductor manufacturers, who are already working at their capacity limits, have also come under pressure.

From VW group circles it was reported that due to fluctuating forecasts for the car markets, the producers of semiconductors had obviously switched their production to other "customer sectors with high growth rates", such as consumer electronics, despite the high demand from the car industry. Experts therefore assume that the shortage of semiconductors for the automotive industry will last for up to six months.

. (tagsToTranslate) Economy (t) Car manufacturer (t) German car manufacturer (t) Federal government (t) Taiwan (t) Corona crisis