Covid-19’s disruption to semiconductor supplies has been the latest in a line of setbacks for carmakers, following higher tariffs from the US-China trade war and pasts shortages after the Japanese earthquake in 2011. But despite the impact on European groups including Volkswagen and Daimler, many producers are reluctant to overhaul their “just-in-time” supply chains.
In theory, this approach cuts large inventory levels by moving components just before they are needed — sometimes from the other side of the world. “We need to co-operate with the very best suppliers that are available and unfortunately they are located all over the planet,” says Anders Williamsson, head of purchasing at Scania.
The Swedish truckmaker now has production facilities across Europe and in South America, India and China. “It would be a romantic dream to think we would be able to get all the competencies and capabilities we need into European or Swedish soil,” Williamsson argues. “That will never happen.”