Chip shortage weighs on car sector recovery: Volkswagen CEO

An ongoing shortage of crucial semiconductors is the only factor weighing on a global recovery of the car sector from the coronavirus crisis, Herbert Diess, chief executive of Volkswagen AG, said on Thursday.

Demand is picking up in the United States, Brazil and China, Diess said at the Hannover Messe trade fair, adding the world's second-largest carmaker was also working through high order intake in Europe.

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"The only thing that is currently limiting and slowing down this recovery is the critical supply situation worldwide with regard to various semiconductor types," Diess said.

Diess' remarks came a day after US peer Ford Motor Co outlined another series of plant shutdowns due to the shortage, with five facilities in the United States and one in Turkey affected.