Despite the progress of the economic recovery, there is still a problem inherited from 2020 that is still in full force: the global shortage of microprocessors, vital components for the operation of every modern car.

The prospect that the shortage would be solved in the second half of this year is fading; consequently, the automotive industry faces costs in excess of 92,000 million for this reason. It will not be the only damage, since we must also consider the decline in the production of vehicles and the rise in their prices at a time when the CPI is once again registering highs on both sides of the Atlantic.

All of them are the unwanted consequences of the de facto duopoly that has existed in the world chip market for years.Not surprisingly, there are only two weight producers, South Korea and Taiwan, with a smaller participation from Japan and China.

The way in which this last giant monopolizes these components for its own electronics industry, added to the traffic jam suffered by several of its main ports (which makes exports from all of Southeast Asia even more difficult), prevent this crisis from having a rapid final.

Europe’s dependence on the Asian export of microprocessors is a drag on the automotive sector

However, neither now nor in previous years has there been an EU plan to alleviate this dangerous dependence of its automobile industry on Asia. Not even now, with the forthcoming release of EU anti-crisis funds, has the creation of such a basic auxiliary industry in Europe been among its priorities. Thus, such a serious vulnerability continues to be neglected due to its effects on a fundamental sector for economies such as Spain.
Despite the progress of the economic recovery, there is still a problem inherited from 2020 that is still in full force: the global shortage of microprocessors, vital components for the operation of every modern car.

The prospect that the shortage would be solved in the second half of this year is fading; consequently, the automotive industry faces costs in excess of 92,000 million for this reason. It will not be the only damage, since we must also consider the decline in the production of vehicles and the rise in their prices at a time when the CPI is once again registering highs on both sides of the Atlantic.

All of them are the unwanted consequences of the de facto duopoly that has existed in the world chip market for years.Not surprisingly, there are only two weight producers, South Korea and Taiwan, with a smaller participation from Japan and China.

The way in which this last giant monopolizes these components for its own electronics industry, added to the traffic jam suffered by several of its main ports (which makes exports from all of Southeast Asia even more difficult), prevent this crisis from having a rapid final.

Europe’s dependence on the Asian export of microprocessors is a drag on the automotive sector

However, neither now nor in previous years has there been an EU plan to alleviate this dangerous dependence of its automobile industry on Asia. Not even now, with the forthcoming release of EU anti-crisis funds, has the creation of such a basic auxiliary industry in Europe been among its priorities. Thus, such a serious vulnerability continues to be neglected due to its effects on a fundamental sector for economies such as Spain.