Daimler CEO: Semiconductor shortage may not go away next year

Daimler AG s chief executive officer cautioned that the global semiconductor shortage may not entirely go away next year and could take until 2023 to be resolved, a view shared by larger German rival Volkswagen AG.

Ola Kallenius, CEO of Mercedes Benz maker, delivered the assessment during a press briefing with reporters for this week's auto show in Munich. Daimler recently cut its sales forecast for its car division, projecting delivery will be in line with 2020, rather than significantly.

Mercedes has been hit by factory shutdowns in Malaysia, which in recent years emerged as the major center for chip testing and packaging. Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV and STMicroelectronics NV are among the key suppliers operating plants in the country.

There is hope that the situation starts to ease in the fourth quarter, Kallenius said, though he anticipates fallout from a structural demand issue will also affect industries in 2022. A Japanese chipmaker who supplies to Toyota Motor Corp. also predicted last month that the supply crunch could last all of next year through all of next year.

Semiconductor supply remains very volatile in the third quarter, but we hope for a gradual recovery by the end of the year, VW purchasing chief Murat Aksel told reporters on late Sunday. The auto industry globally would need roughly 10% more production capacity for chips, he said.