According to Renault boss Luca de Meo, car prices will continue to rise for the next 12 months. The cause ? Shortages of components such as semiconductors that have affected the automotive industry for several months.
As you know, many industries are affected by multiple shortages, starting with that of semiconductors. These electronic chips, mainly manufactured in Asia, are widely used in the automotive industry, in computers, or even in video game consoles. Here it is also complicated to find a PS5 or an Xbox Series X for example, or even the latest GeForce RTX 3000 cards from Nvidia.
Faced with this exceptional situation, some car manufacturers have had to take drastic measures, such as Toyota, which intends to reduce its global car production by 40%. The finding is far from the same at Tesla which exploded its sales during the third quarter of 2021 despite the shortage of chips.
Renault boss announces price increases due to shortages
On the Renault side, an increase in vehicle prices is inevitable. It is in all that confirmed the CEO Luca de Meo in the columns of the Spanish newspaper Expansion. “Prices will increase further over the next 10 months ”, warns the big boss of the diamond brand. He explains that microchip makers are taking advantage of the lack of supply and high demand for inflate semiconductor prices.
And when production costs go up, it immediately spills over to the selling prices of cars. We must add to this other problems that have forced Renault to increase their margins, such as the temporary closure of several factories. Faced with the lack of chips, Luca de Meo explains that more and more manufacturers are focusing their production capacities on more expensive and therefore more profitable models.
The solution would obviously be to produce electronic chips in Europe.. On this subject, Luca de Meo is categorical: it will take at least more than 10 years to achieve sufficient production. Realistic estimates when we know that the European Union wishes to represent 20% of the world production of electronic chips by 2030. For the moment, it will therefore be necessary to remain dependent on Asian manufacturers. And for now, no return to normal is expected before 2023.
Source: Expansion