Semiconductors are rare – and are also in demand in other industries. Despite strong demand, Daimler’s car deliveries are dropping in double digits. But there are also bright spots.
Due to the semiconductor shortage, Daimler has to accept a significant slump in car sales. The parent brand Mercedes-Benz delivered 428,361 cars worldwide from July to September – that was 30.2 percent fewer than in the same period of the previous year, as Daimler announced on Wednesday.
There were double-digit percentage declines in many regions, including Germany and Europe as well as China, the largest market. Despite robust global demand and strong incoming orders, the semiconductor bottleneck limited sales. There were also declines in light commercial vehicles and the Smart small car series. However, Mercedes was able to make gains in the top models such as the S-Class and also in electrified drives.
In the year to date, Mercedes has increased deliveries by 2.7 percent to 1.59 million cars. However, the lead over the previous year, which was burdened by corona lockdowns, has melted significantly after the third quarter. Daimler boss Ola Källenius had already warned of weaker sales in the second half of the year. With smart and small commercial vehicles together, there was an increase of 3.8 percent to 1.86 million vehicles from January to September.
The auto industry is currently plagued by delivery problems for electronic semiconductors because the production of chips in Asia was interrupted in several countries as a result of lockdowns or the manufacturers had switched production for other industries. The production lines at the German car companies in Europe and China keep coming to a standstill. Because the demand exceeds the supply and the delivery times are long, the carmakers hardly have to give discounts and on the other hand benefit from rising prices for new and used cars.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
