At first, carmakers thought the worst semiconductor shortage would be seen in the first half of 2021, then in the third quarter of this year and now the Mexican Industry Association Automotive (AMIA) estimated that the shortage of chips will be normalized until the second half of 2022, so it is expected that this problem will continue to delay the recovery of production and export of vehicles in Mexico.
“This year it is unlikely that there will be a change in the supply of semiconductors and it could be reached until the second half of 2022, but this will depend on how the supply and demand of these products behave which depends largely on sectors that do not they are the automotive one “, explained in conference Fausto Cuevas, general director of the AMIA.
He stressed that there are sectors that demand more semiconductors than the automotive industry, as armed vehicles account for just 5 percent of global semiconductor demand, “which makes it difficult for our companies to balance demand.” to say.
In the same vein, the CEO of Volkswagen AG, Herbert Diess, anticipated that it will take years to normalize the supply of chips. “We will probably continue to be in short supply over the next few months or even years because semiconductors are in high demand,” Diess told Bloomberg.
Diess and his counterparts Ona Kallenius at Daimler AG and BMW Zip’s Oliver Zipse expressed concern when most European carmakers gathered in Munich for the first performance show since before the pandemic. The CEO of Volkswagen AG warned last Sunday that the shortage of semiconductors could not disappear completely next year and could take until 2023 to resolve.
Production and export fall to their worst level in 11 years
In August 2021, there were 237,000 40 performances in Mexico, a figure 21.4 percent lower than that recorded in the same period last year, INEGI reported. In the monthly comparison, the navy was 6.9 percent larger than that recorded in July of the same year.
While 212,000 687 units were exported, 19.6 percent below what was reported in the same period in 2020; in both cases it is the largest annual negative variation for a similar lapse in the last 11 years.
By destination, the United States concentrates 75.4 percent of Mexico’s total car exports; the American Union recorded in August the reception of 147,000 905 vehicles coupled in Aztec soil, 30.3 percent lower than that recorded in the same period of 2020. This amount is the lowest since 2012 and is also the lowest volume since INEGI is registered.
“In the end we have an estimate that exports can reach 2.7 million units and exports 3 million, which are similar to those we had last year,” he added.
Between January and August 2021, 2 million 54 thousand 584 actions were coupled in Mexico, 13.3 percent higher than reported in the same period last year, derived from a comparable low base. While 1 million 819,000 345 performances were sent to other nations, 15.1 percent higher than that recorded in the first eight months of 2020.
The queries on regional content of the T-MEC follow
Fausto Coves said consultations are advancing to calculate regional content in the automotive industry to comply with the rules set out in the Mexico, United States and Canada (T-MEC) Treaty.
“Consultations continue to advance, it is very adventurous to say that Mexico will not win, because it also has the support of Canada (…) In that case, Mexico could bring this to a panel of controversy beyond the 75 days of consultation,” he said. to say.
He stressed that during this time of consultations and the six months that a panel of controversies could last, the industry will continue with normal trade.
“We still do not know in detail who has been consulted because it is confidential information, because this is in the hands of the government of the three countries,” he said.
Last week the Canadian government formally announced that it would participate in the consultations initiated by its Mexican counterpart opening this issue.
With information from Bloomberg