BMW and Porsche have to stop production at their largest plants in Dingolfing and Leipzig respectively due to supply problems caused by the war in Ukraine. It is the result of the much-vaunted ‘just-in-time’ production.
Due to a lack of parts, Porsche was forced to suspend production from Wednesday afternoon until the end of next week at the factory in Leipzig, where the Macan and Panamera are built. Short-time working will be requested for the 2,500 affected employees.
Production will continue this week in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, where the Taycan and 911 are being built, according to the announcement. “We will continuously reassess the situation in the coming days and weeks,” a spokesperson said. According to information from industry circles, Volkswagen subsidiary Porsche has so far obtained wiring harnesses from Western Ukraine.
BMW and Mini
Production lines in the largest European BMW factory in Dingolfing will also be shut down from Monday due to the war. The main factory in Munich will also be unable to produce vehicles for the time being due to supply bottlenecks. Engine production in Steyr, Austria, has also stopped. BMW subsidiary Mini has also been hit hard. The production lines in Oxford, UK, have come to a halt, as has the VDL Nedcar factory, where the Mini, Mini Countryman and BMW X1 are produced.
Volkswagen previously applied for short-time working for the factories in Dresden and Zwickau. Now the bottleneck is spreading to the large VW car factories in West Germany. According to a letter to staff, the main factory in Wolfsburg will only produce limited quantities from next week. Production should come to a complete standstill in the following week. VW also expects production interruptions for the commercial vehicle factory in Hanover from next week.
‘Just in time’
In all cases, the closures are caused by suppliers from Ukraine completely shutting down. The modern car industry is so efficient that there are no stocks anywhere. This saves time and money. Unfortunately, this so-called ‘just-in-time’ method has the disadvantage that the entire chain immediately stops if one link breaks. Many car parts are made in Ukraine, including wiring harnesses and on-board networks. The biggest problems are caused by the shutdown of the German company Leoni, which has two branches in Ukraine.
According to the industry, it will take at least three months, but more likely six months, to build up Ukraine’s production at a location in another country.
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