The third quarter proves to be problematic for many car manufacturers, as the consequences of the chip shortage are starting to show more clearly in the sales figures. That does not immediately mean that manufacturers are diving deep into the red, but profits are much lower than expected due to the continuing problems at most manufacturers.
‘Chip shortage’, you can hardly ignore the word in today’s economic news. In the third quarter, almost every manufacturer noticed the impact of the chip shortage, even if some know how to deal with the consequences better than others. Toyota, for example, is making record profits despite the chip shortage. That does not apply to compatriots Honda and Subaru. Honda recorded 30 percent less profit in the third quarter than in the same period last year. Subaru starts the decline even harder with a minus of 46 percent. Not only the chip shortage, the rising price of raw materials also contributes to the decline in profit.
Things are rosier at Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Although both manufacturers are dealing with a drop in sales, profits are not affected. Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, recorded a profit of €2.6 billion in the third quarter, 18 percent higher than in 2020. At BMW, profit even rose by 50 percent to €2.9 billion. These higher profits are mainly due to the fact that new cars can be put away for a higher price and both brands are betting on higher margins per car. The Volkswagen Group does note a profit decline of 12 percent, but at €2.8 billion, the profit is still close to that of BMW.
There are red numbers for Jaguar Land Rover, which recorded a loss of €358 million in the past quarter. In the same period last year, that was still a profit of €75 million. CFO Adrian Mardell reports to Autonews Europe that the loss is mainly because no fewer than 160,000 orders could not be fulfilled. He adds that that’s “probably the highest number in company history.”
Stellantis manages to limit the damage somewhat in the third quarter. The group does not yet mention a profit figure, but does state that turnover of €32.6 billion fell by 14 percent in the past quarter compared to 2020. The decrease is mainly due to the fact that Stellantis has reduced the production of 600,000 cars. failed’ in the past three months. Ford and General Motors also saw their profits decline in the third quarter of this year. Both manufacturers expect the problems to persist into 2022.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl