In the current situation surrounding the chip shortage, it is sometimes a matter of choice or sharing for car manufacturers. In a deal with chip manufacturers Inova Semiconductors and Gloalfoundries, BMW has in any case secured the supply for an ‘important’ element in the car: the mood lighting.
According to BMW, the deal with the chip manufacturers is good for the supply of ‘several millions of chips per year’. Where you might first think of the touchscreen for the application of those microchips, BMW uses the chips for a different purpose: the mood lighting system in the iX, the model with which BMW also celebrated its milestone of the millionth EV delivered. After all, every element in the car counts, and that includes the mood lighting in a modern luxury electric SUV.
However, you would initially expect BMW to focus on the chips for other elements in the interior, such as the aforementioned touchscreen. In America and Europe, the brand had to temporarily supply models without a touchscreen in order not to run out of chip stock. BMW continued to deal with production interruptions and in November the brand sold fewer cars than a year ago. Nevertheless, BMW seems to be able to absorb the consequences of the chip shortage nicely: the car manufacturer increased its profit forecast in September.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl