Russia's invasion of Ukraine is once again putting the economy to the test. The automotive industry is not spared either, with many manufacturers operating plants in both countries and relying on local suppliers. What impact does the war have on car manufacturers?
The world does not come to rest. Russia is attacking Ukraine, plunging the economy into new chaos. The sanctions against Russia also affect some car manufacturers that operate plants there.
Although the importance of material goods pales in comparison to the human casualties of the conflict, the automotive sector is beginning to feel the global impact of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
What impact does the Russia-Ukraine war have on the automotive industry?
We will keep you up to date on the latest developments. Due to a lack of parts supply, there are order stops and delivery delays.
Update from June 14:
The supply of parts at Audi is still strained. For this reason, the manufacturer has extended short-time work at the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm sites until June 30. Among other things, the A4, A5, A6, A7 and A8 models as well as various S and RS Performance models including the R8 super sports car are built in Neckarsulm. At the Ingolstadt plant, it affects the Q2, A3, A4 and A5 models.
At VW, on the other hand, the situation is easing somewhat. It has therefore been decided that production at the plant in Zwickau will be ramped up again. Three-shift operation will be resumed. Above all, the many orders for e-cars now have to be processed.
Production and supply problems
Russia is currently less interesting as a sales market for the automotive industry. However, until recently, the Russian market was considered the market of the future – but that has now become a thing of the past. Russia will probably be relevant neither as a sales market nor as a production location for many years.
At the moment, however, many companies still have production sites in Russia. Due to the sanctions against the country, supply chains are now at risk.
Many automotive suppliers in Ukraine
The German manufacturers are less affected, BMW and Mercedes-Benz cannot yet fully assess the effects. Volkswagen recently announced that the production of electric cars at the Zwickau and Dresden plants would have to be stopped for a few days. The reason: missing parts for cable harnesses that were supposed to come from Ukraine.
For the electric car delivery times, which have already increased enormously due to the Corona crisis, this renewed delay will certainly not be advantageous.
In total, the German automotive industry maintains relationships with around 49 suppliers or production facilities in Russia and Ukraine. For safety reasons, the machines in the Ukrainian production cities are at a standstill, all employees have been sent home.
Many medium-sized suppliers for the automotive industry are located there.
VW Group increasingly affected
Will it remain the case for VW that the plants are only shut down for a short time? In addition to the plants in Zwickau and Dresden, there have also been restrictions at the main plant in Wolfsburg since March 7.
In the meantime, the supply of parts at VW has eased somewhat. In Wolfsburg, work has been resumed in single-shift operation since March 21, and in Zwickau, electric car production resumed in April. There are still bottlenecks at the other plants.
The brands Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, which belong to the VW Group, are also affected. Skoda has already had to limit production of the Enyaq iV.
BMW repeatedly affected by production stops
VW war nur der erste Streich, doch auch bei BMW und Mercedes werden langsam nun die Auswirkungen spürbar. BMW musste bereits in einigen Werken die Bänder still stehen lassen. Zuletzt war das Werk in Regensburg betroffen. Auch die Beantragung von Kurzarbeit ist im Gespräch.
Lieferengpässe erwartet
Vor allem für Russlands größten Autobauer Avtovaz, der zum Renault-Konzern gehört, wird es eng werden. Die wirtschaftlichen Sanktionen gegen Russland betreffen auch die Lieferung von Elektronikchips für die Autoproduktion. Avtovaz macht 90 Prozent seines Umsatzes in Russland, etwa sechs Prozent des Gesamtumsatzes von Renault stammen von Avtovaz.
Wenn sich die Kabel-Problematik der deutschen und europäischen Hersteller nicht bessert, werden wir auch hier mit erheblichen Engpässen bei der Lieferung von Neuwagen rechnen müssen. Es wird sogar bereits davon gesprochen, dass die Auswirkungen noch gravierender sein könnten, als während des Lockdown aufgrund der Corona-Pandemie 2020.
Steigende Sprit- und Energiepreise
Auch wenn weder Russland noch die Ukraine ein starker Absatzmarkt für deutsche und europäische Autohersteller ist, wird dieser Krieg dennoch auch bei uns Folgen hinterlassen. Die für die Autoproduktion benötigte Energie und jene, die zum Betreiben von Fahrzeugen – sei es Benzin, Diesel oder Strom – nötig ist, hat sich aufgrund des Konflikts merklich verteuert. In Deutschland kämpfen die Autofahre:innen aktuell mit hohen Spritpreisen über 2 Euro pro Liter.
