Bosch inaugurates chip plant in Germany to supply Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The inauguration ceremony, on Monday, June 7, was held online and attended by German Prime Minister Angela Merkel.

Amid the greatest semiconductors shortage crisis, which has led vehicle manufacturers to paralyze worldwide, Bosch advanced by six months the inauguration of a component plant in Germany that will supply other group units, including Brazil.

The inauguration ceremony, on Monday, June 7, was held online and attended by German Prime Minister Angela Merkel, thereby confirming the significance of local chip production, currently controlled by Asian countries, although Bosch is the world’s sixth largest component manufacturer.

The event also included a virtual tour of the plant, which was granted €1 (US$1.2) billion in investments, partly financed by the local government and European Union financial institutions.

“It is the largest single investment made by Bosch in all of its 130-year history,” said Volkmar Denner, the group’s global CEO, who did not disclose the new plant’s production capacity.

According to him, the last prior plant for this component had been opened in 2010. The new complex will start production in July, initially with semiconductors for electronic products. In September the automotive industry line will begin operations.

Seven hundred high-quality jobs will be created. In parallel to the inauguration, due to a shortage of components, Bosch has had its plant in Braga, Portugal, halted since May 10, with the return scheduled for June 9, although this can be deferred.

Denner said the new project “will help ease the situation and reduce the pressure,” but conceded that the global chip shortage is expected to continue until 2022. “We will still face challenging months in the second half of the year,” he commented.

Plants halted in Brazil

In Brazil, two Volkswagen plants, in Taubaté (SP) and São José dos Pinhais (PR), have suspended production as of Monday, June 7, due to a shortage of components for the Gol, Voyage, Fox and T-Cross cars manufactured at these units. The stoppage should run for ten days, during which time the approximately 4,000 employees of both plants will be on collective vacation.

General Motors will suspend production at the São Caetano do Sul (SP) plant for six weeks starting on June 21, and will also use this time to adapt the assembly line to start producing a new pickup truck.

The group’s plant in Gravataí (RS) has been shut down since April and is expected to resume operations only in mid-August. The unit produces the Onix, the brand’s best-selling model. Before the supply issue, the compact car had led total car sales in the country for several years.

Nissan reported that it would interrupt its activities in Resende (RJ) for five days for the same reason.

Early last month, the National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (ANFAVEA) had alerted that the coming weeks should be the most difficult in terms of semiconductor supply and that new production stoppages should be required, as occurred earlier this year, when at least half of automakers were forced to shut down their machines.

Source: Exame