The Mladá Boleslav carmaker, like other car manufacturers, is struggling with a lack of components. She is mainly bothered by the lack of chips from Malaysia.
–
Škoda Auto, like other world car manufacturers, is struggling with the lack of chips that are needed in the car’s on-board electronics. Due to this, Škoda cannot complete a number of cars directly on the line. The company has a maximum limit of 50,000 unfinished cars, a higher number would jeopardize the cash flow, ie the company’s cash flow and liquidity. That is why the company prefers to cancel shifts, said Jaroslav Povšík, chairman of the corporate council, to Hospodářské noviny (HN).
“We can store anything. We can always rent a field parking lot or land of air clubs. When we cross the 50,000 car mark, it starts to run into our cash flow and liquidity. That is why we prefer to omit shifts, “Povšík told HN.
–
–
According to Povšík, the company currently has 40,000 unfinished cars. When the number of unfinished cars starts to approach 50,000, Škoda begins to cancel shifts. “And since we don’t produce anything, we don’t increase the numbers. And in the meantime, we take the stored cars from the package and finish what works. So far, we have never approached the critical phase of 50,000, “said Povšík.
According to him, the Octavia is a crisis model. “We sacrifice Octavia because of other models that we have to prefer. We need to get Enyaq on the market in particular as our premium and first fully electric car with a high margin, “said the union leader. Preference is given, for example, to the new Fabias and high-margin cars, including the Enyaq IV, Kodiaq and Superb. According to Povšík, the production of a new car may be delayed by up to 90 days due to chip problems.
–
–
The company is now bothered mainly by the lack of chips from Malaysia, the factories there have a large number of employees with covid-19 and the country has a lockdown. Due to the lack of chips, the company had to extend the plant-wide holiday for a week, when production is stopped. “Production will resume fully this Sunday at ten o’clock in the evening at night. So in the 34th working week, everything will start. It is mainly because we have to get in order and find out how people returned to work and who will not come, “said Povšík.
According to Povšík, last year the company produced about 210,000 fewer cars than planned due to the lockdown. “So far this year, we have about 60,000 minus cars – mainly due to a lack of chips. But we will certainly not achieve such a high outage as last year. If we had chips, we would smoothly break all the records in the history of Škoda Auto, “said Povšík.
Last year, Škoda Auto delivered over one million cars worldwide. It operates three production plants in the Czech Republic, produces in China, Russia, Slovakia and India, mostly through group partnerships, as well as in Ukraine and Kazakhstan in cooperation with local partners. It is active in more than 100 markets.
– .
