Daimler expects chips to remain scarce in 2022

BERLIN (Reuters) – Daimler Chief Technology Officer Markus Schaefer said the luxury carmaker expects chip supply to remain scarce throughout 2022, particularly in the first half of the year.

“Chip scarcity will also accompany us in 2022, particularly in the first half,” Schaefer said to a journalists roundtable.

“We do not expect significant production capacity increases in the first half of the year … these will barely come in the full year,” he said.

Daimler, soon to be renamed Mercedes-Benz, produced 23.9% fewer cars in October 2021 than the previous year and 21.8% less in November, mirroring a production drop as carmakers worldwide struggle to get their hands on enough chips to meet demand.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Editing by Miranda Murray)