Peugeot has to install analog speedometers due to the chip shortage

The car manufacturer Stellantis is replacing digital speedometers on a Peugeot model with the more old-fashioned analogue version due to the worldwide rampant chip shortage. In the Peugeot 308, traditional speed indicators should be installed from the end of May, announced the car manufacturer that emerged from the merger of the French Opel parent PSA with the Fiat Chrysler group. Digital dashboards should be reserved for more popular vehicles like the 3008 SUV. The French news broadcaster LCI reported that the poorer equipment should be made palatable to customers by means of a price discount. The current model of the Peugeot 308 expires in autumn. The next generation of the compact car should again have a digital speedometer. The management consultancy Roland Berger expects "that the shortage of semiconductor will last well beyond the year 2021". The needs of the auto industry will increase massively through electrification and automated driving by 2025: Today semiconductors for $ 3,000 are built into a premium car with a combustion engine. "With a semi-autonomous electric car, the value will more than double to over 7,000 dollars per vehicle by 2025," said the industry experts in a study. At the same time, the management consultants expect a stronger market concentration among chip manufacturers. "This constellation makes procurement even more difficult." On top of that, smartphone and computer manufacturers are much bigger customers for the semiconductor industry than car manufacturers. The demand for computers and game consoles has increased during the Corona crisis, while many automakers severely cut their chip orders. Due to a lack of semiconductors, Hyundai has to temporarily stop production of the Kona SUV model and the Ioniq 5 electric car in South Korea. In March, Volkswagen had to suspend work on two assembly lines for the Tiguan, Touran and Tarraco models in Wolfsburg for a week. Toyota had the tapes in Kolin, Czech Republic, paused for two weeks in March due to a lack of chips. The semiconductor shortage is the result of an incorrect assessment by the manufacturer. With the expectation that consumer behavior would be reduced significantly at the start of the pandemic a year ago, production was cut back. However, the opposite effect occurred with consumers. The lead-up to production for chip manufacturers can take a few months, so capacities are not yet available again.