Chip supply problems are escalating at Volkswagen. A partial production shutdown is now looming. In addition, discussions about short-time work are apparently already underway. The background to this is a dispute over chip manufacturer Nexperia.

Volkswagen is not ruling out short-term production restrictions due to the problems at Dutch chip manufacturer Nexperia."Production is currently unaffected. However, given the dynamic situation, short-term impacts on production cannot be ruled out," states a post on the automaker's intranet, which was obtained by the dpa news agency. A spokesperson confirmed this to dpa upon request.

According to the Bild newspaper, Volkswagen is already in talks with the employment agency about possible short-time work for tens of thousands of employees. The company declined to comment on the matter. The VW intranet simply stated:"Volkswagen is in close contact with all relevant parties in light of the current situation in order to identify potential risks at an early stage and decide on necessary measures." The company will inform employees of any new developments.

World's largest supplier of simple semiconductors

With a 40 percent market share, Nexperia is the world's largest supplier of simple semiconductors such as diodes and transistors. The company also develops advanced chips for battery management. Its Chinese parent company, Wingtech, has been on a US government blacklist since 2024 due to alleged national security risks.

Supply problems are currently occurring after the Dutch government took control of the company, which was previously run by its Chinese parent company. China subsequently stopped exports of Nexperia products, such as chips for the automotive industry. A VW spokesperson confirmed to the Reuters news agency that Nexperia semiconductors are used in components that the automaker purchases from suppliers.

Mercedes does not expect any failures

The German Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VDA) had also already warned of possible outages due to the problems at Nexperia – even including production stoppages. Mercedes-Benz, however, does not anticipate any outages due to the problems in the short term. Thanks to good cooperation with suppliers and lessons learned from the chip crisis, the automaker stated that it is"protected in the short term."

"We are working intensively with our partners to close any gaps that may arise." Mercedes is monitoring developments. However, reliable forecasts are difficult to make at this point.