General Motors (GM) expects to see 1.5 billion to 2 billion dollars (€ 1.2 billion to € 1.6 billion) less operating profit this year due to the chip shortage that car manufacturers are suffering.
The American concern, parent company of Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and Hummer, has already had to shut down several factories and continues to build cars without certain parts that contain the chips. GM isn’t the only automaker to suffer from chip shortages. In Europe, Ford, the Volkswagen Group and Mercedes-Benz, among others, are struggling. Ford already preceded GM with a prediction of the impact that chip shortages will have. GM’s competitor is counting on an operating profit that is between $ 1 billion and $ 2.5 billion lower than without the deficit.
According to the automotive sector, the shortages are caused because chip makers prefer to make more lucrative chips for smartphones, for example. However, chip manufacturers point out that they plan their capacity months in advance and that automakers themselves reduced their production and therefore their chip orders due to the corona crisis.
Annual profit for GM
GM had a strong demand for large pickups and SUVs in the fourth quarter of last year. This ended the year positively. Revenue for the full year 2020 was $ 122.5 billion against $ 137.2 billion a year earlier. Profit last year was $ 6.2 billion, $ 334 million less than in 2019.