In addition to a humanitarian catastrophe, the ongoing crisis in Ukraine is wreaking havoc on the business world. The automotive industry suffers the most as supply chains are disrupted, leading to production breakdowns in many factories. A new study conducted by global vehicle forecasting company LMC Automotive estimates volume losses in European plants last month.
The Volkswagen Group suffered the most after cutting production at 25,500 vehicles at its Wolfsburg plant alone. In fact, LMC Automotive believes that the six most affected factories all belong to VW and its subsidiaries. Later in the UK was the BMW Group’s Oxford plant where MINI was made. The war in Ukraine affected output in March, forcing the British Mark’s parent company to lose 9,600 vehicles.
As far as the original brand is concerned, BMW built 6,500 fewer vehicles at Dinglefing in peacetime. Also, the Munich factory suffered losses in March when 4,000 cars were not produced. Add them up and you’re looking at 20,100 cars that could be completed if there was enough material to finish the cars.
German car companies have suffered the most
These numbers are not set in stone because the analysis of LMC Automotive is more along a line of estimation. Nonetheless, German automakers hit hard to lose nearly 150,000 vehicles, exceeding their initial March production target. This could be even worse because some Ukraine-based supplier activities have not stopped. Also, others have resumed production, but automakers are actively looking for ways to get the parts they need from other sources to reduce the deficit.
Considering these barriers at the top of the microchip deficit, car manufacturers have faced a perfect storm. Nevertheless, BMW USA’s sales grew 3.2% in the first quarter of 2022, while MINI grew 9.4%.
Source: LMC Automotive via Automotive News Europe (subscription required)