The global semi-conductor chip shortage has forced German automaker Volkswagen to halt production of electric vehicles at its Zwickau and Dresden production plants.
A spokesperson for Volkswagen Saxony reportedly confirmed the one-week halt to production to German automotive publication Automobilwoche. Only four production days will be cancelled due to the fact that Wednesday is a Saxony public holiday for the Day of Prayer and Repentance, thus allowing VW to use the week to halt production.
This is not the first time that Volkswagen has had to halt production due to a global shortage of semiconductor chips which has been plaguing all electronic manufacturing worldwide throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time, it was VW’s Golf and Tiguan production lines at the company’s Wolfsburg plant that were forced to halt, as the company’s electric ID production lines were prioritised.
VW’s Zwickau plant regularly builds 1,200 a day and focuses on the ID.3, ID.4, and ID.5 – the latter in pre-production. However, in addition to Volkswagen’s own models, the Audi Q4 e-tron and Sportback and the Cupra Born are also made, with their production lines also falling silent this week.
VW’s Dresden facility produces 35 ID.3s per day, so the lion’s share of the hit to the company’s production numbers will land at Zwickau.
The news of production delays came only a week after Reuters reported that Volkswagen was planning a new factory close to its headquarters in Wolfsburg where it would build a new flagship electric sedan starting from 2026 that would include level 4 autonomy.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.