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The chip crisis has not crushed Lithuanian car manufacturers: the pandemic is coming out with a bang

In turn, he is the director of the Lithuanian Association of Car Parts Manufacturers and Exporters Andrius Rakickas said that the car plant that had entered the pandemic abroad did not have a direct impact on companies in Lithuania.

“We don’t work directly with car factories, so we don’t have a direct impact,” he explained.

However, A. Rakickas warned about rising prices for electronic components.

“Manufacturers of electronic components themselves raise prices from 5 to 10 percent. up to several times, and speculation is observed in the secondary market when electronic components are bought by traders, who then sell them at prices 3 to 10 times higher.

In such a situation, as always, those who will be able to best adapt to the changed supply conditions and maneuver by choosing component alternatives with shorter delivery times, work more efficiently with suppliers and are able to promptly review and adapt product pricing that inevitably changes under these conditions will win, ”commented. interlocutor.

Europe is waiting for recovery

As you know, the lack of semiconductor chips, which has been felt for some time, has been causing disruptions in car production around the world. Fiat Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen have announced plans to adjust.

With the end of the pandemic and declining production, car inventories were thawed by increased customer flows. As a result, there was even talk of a car deficit.

However, D. Lasionis told Delfi that all these factors did not significantly affect car manufacturers in Lithuania.

“Lithuanian companies are growing their order book and production this year. So far, the shortage of raw materials and semiconductors has not caused much damage. Clearly, rising commodity prices, supply disruptions have an impact, and some orders as well production delayed or delayed. This means that growth could be even higher if everything is stable, “he explained.

The interviewee informed that to his knowledge, most of the orders of the cluster companies have significantly more than in 2020 and even more than in 2019.

“We are seeing a fairly rapid increase in orders and production, as consumer expectations are high, there is a belief that the vaccination campaign will work and Europe will return to normal in the autumn. Growth in the number of orders and production is limited by rising raw material prices and the lack of certain components (such as semiconductors).

No one knows exactly when raw material prices will stabilize and there will be no supply disruptions. This year, China’s economy is growing very strongly and consuming a lot of raw materials and components, which is one of the reasons for the “disruption” of supply. Some experts say that the situation will stabilize in the second half of this year, others say that without 2022 the situation will not change, “said D. Lasionis.

Darius Lasionis

© Photo from personal archive

The companies belonging to the cluster mainly produce parts for Swedish and German car factories. Supplied metal, plastic and rubber parts, electric motors, batteries, air, oils, fuel filters, cable belts, electromechanical systems and more.

It will last until 2022

Mr Rakickas said the crisis in the supply of electronic components was global and affected all manufacturers of electronic devices.

“It is not yet clear how long this crisis will continue and different suppliers comment that the trends will continue until the end of 2021 and even the middle of 2022, although there are no guarantees,” he said.

The interviewee added a noticeable trend that supply is currently best secured by large electronics manufacturers.

“Those who place orders for electronic components in advance. However, there are already examples of car factories being shut down, telephone production, etc., ”he said.

According to A. Rakickas, electronic component manufacturers are still unable to meet market needs and distribute the amount of available components to existing customers, and do not accept new orders from new customers at all.

“In a situation like this, some” wins “, so to speak, are those electronics manufacturers that previously held large warehouses that have accumulated quantities of electronic components during 2020, when sales have picked up and can now produce devices,” he said.


The chip crisis has not crushed Lithuanian car manufacturers: the pandemic is coming out with a bang

Itar-Tass / Scanpix

According to the website of the Baltic Automotive Parts Cluster, its members include companies such as Hi-Steel, Metec, Nitator-Slt, Arginta Engineering, Astra LT, Cie LT Forge, Proton Engineering. , Stigma, Baltec CNC Technologies, SLT Industrial Components, AQ Wiring Systems, Baltic Filter, Schmitz Cargobull Baltic, Panevėžys Aurida, Arrival LT, Galvanta, Elameta “.

The Lithuanian Association of Auto Parts Manufacturers and Exporters includes ABF LT, Augija, Baltic Filter, Craft bearings, Danushis Chemicals, Paint and Coatings Factory, Detagama, Eoltas, Gaschema, Jubana ”,“ Jupoja Technique ”,“ Laurema graphics ”,“ Lesta ”,“ Luft Master ”,“ Nosted & ”,“ Papilio spark ”,“ Signeda ”,“ Xirgo Global ”.

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