VW adjusts production amid semiconductor bottleneck

MUNICH-- Volkswagen Group said it is adjusting production in North America, Europe and China because of a shortage of automotive microchips.

The move will affect production of VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat models based on VW Group's MQB platform,VW said in a statement on Friday. The platform underpins car such as the VW Golf.

Semiconductor manufacturers reassigned their production capacities to other sectors such as consumer electronics during the slump in car sales earlier this year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Car sales have now recovered significantly and the auto industry faces a shortage of the electronic components required, VW said.

"We are now feeling the effects of the global semiconductor bottleneck," said Murat Aksel, VW's board member overseeing purchasing.

VW's home plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, is among the group's factories worst affected by the shortages. Some of the plant's employees working on production of the Golf hatchback will have their holidays extended to Jan. 18 from Jan. 4, German media reports said.

Automakers and suppliers in China had warned earlier this month that a shortage of automotive microchips was threatening to slow down the industry's pandemic recovery. VW and German suppliers Robert Bosch and Continental said shortages of semiconductors could run into 2021.

Reuters contributed to this report