Warnings have been issued for weeks about empty shelves when shopping for Christmas, many electronic items are heavily out of stock or only available after long delivery times. What is usually a nuisance for private customers is a real problem for industry. Above all, car manufacturers such as BMW are feeling the semiconductor shortage and the resulting supply crisis more and more clearly.
After it became known a good two weeks ago that many new BMW customers would have the choice of not having the head-up display on their order vehicle or of canceling the car entirely, the lack of chips is now also affecting the central control display. For the model series 3, 4, X5, X6, X7 and Z4, the BMW Live Cockpit with touch function will be delivered without the aforementioned touch function until further notice.
Other manufacturers also continue to be severely affected
To compensate for the missing function, BMW promises a corresponding price reduction and the option of having the touch controls retrofitted at a later date. In any case, this solution should not be more expensive for the customer than the original order ex works. However, the Munich-based company leaves it open when the necessary components will be available again.
But semiconductors, among other things, are still in short supply from other manufacturers. Ford recently had to extend the production stop of Fiesta and Focus. Audi calls the backlogs from the production stop in the main plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm, among others, as no longer catchable, and at Mercedes many vehicles are currently being sold without popular special equipment, such as the Burmester sound system. (Text: tv | Image: manufacturer)