The automobile sector of German industry is affected heavily by the war-related collapse of Ukrainian-made parts. The situation is said to be “catastrophic” by some carmaking experts already. Never in the post-war period—not even during the oil crises and Sunday driving bans—has the entire industry, across the entire value chain, been as close to collective collapse as it is at present.
For instance the wire harness: In a car it is something like the central nervous system. Without it, nothing works. The cause is a shortage of materials on an unprecedented scale—the focus is on wire harnesses from Ukraine—and in part also a shortage of rare raw materials such as the noble gas neon. While the latter gap may still seem somehow bridgeable, the ongoing disruption in the supply of wire harnesses is leading to a unique threat to the entire automotive value chain in this country. Growth forecasts for the entire economy have already been drastically reduced.
