Volkswagen Truck Unit Cannibalizing Chips From Finished Trucks

Volkswagen’s truck unit, Traton Group, is taking chips from unfinished vehicles to finish others, a new indication of the impact of the semiconductor shortage.

The semiconductor industry has been reeling as a result of the global pandemic. Early shutdowns and lockdowns interrupted production, while demand for laptops, tablets and gaming rigs skyrocketed. The auto industry has been particularly hard-hit, with multiple manufacturers slowing or halting production, or shipping vehicles without their full complement of fuel economy chips.

In the case of the Traton Group, a Volkswagen subsidiary, the company is pulling semiconductors from unsold finished vehicles and putting them in unfinished vehicles that have been sold, according to Insider.

The company blamed a recent COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia, a hub for automotive semiconductor manufacturing.