About Suppliers and Chips
Automakers design and assemble cars, but much of what is inside them comes from suppliers. Companies such as Bosch, Continental, ZF, Magna, Denso and Aisin make everything from brakes and transmissions to electronics and entire vehicle modules, and they are among the largest industrial companies in the world. When a supplier stumbles, production lines stop, sometimes across many brands at once, and the effects ripple out to dealers and buyers.
The semiconductor shortage that began in 2020 and 2021 showed how fragile that system can be. As demand for electronics surged during the pandemic and automakers cancelled chip orders, factories around the world idled, and buyers faced empty lots and soaring prices. Since then, chips, batteries and critical minerals have become strategic concerns. Export controls on rare earth magnets, disputes over the chipmaker Nexperia and the concentration of battery materials in China have all reminded automakers how much they depend on distant supply chains.
This page follows suppliers and the supply chain: earnings and restructuring at major parts makers, shortages of chips and materials, factory disruptions, investment in battery and semiconductor production, and the efforts of automakers to secure supplies closer to home. It also tracks the shift in supplier work as cars become electric and software-defined, a change that is creating new winners and squeezing companies built on engines and transmissions. The next shortage, whatever it turns out to be, will probably show up here first.