Ukraine is a major producer of key elements in global automotive production
Car giants, including Volkswagen and BMW, are trying to find alternative sources of vital parts made in Ukraine. The industry is looking for alternatives from distant lands, such as China and Mexico, as Russia's invasion stops production lines and disrupts complex supply chains, according to Reuters.
Finding new suppliers is the latest challenge for the automotive industry, which is already facing rising prices for metals, electricity, supply chain problems along the pandemic and a shortage of semiconductors.
Fighting in Ukraine is now disrupting the production of cables, of which about 5 km are used on average in each car. Unique to each model, vehicles cannot be manufactured without them.
As a result, global carmaker Volkswagen and rival BMW have cut production and temporarily shut down some production lines, while Mercedes-Benz has warned that the same problems will hit them very soon.
Audi said the entire Volkswagen Group is working to get major suppliers to relocate their Ukrainian cable harness production elsewhere or find alternative suppliers, including in Eastern Europe, North Africa, Mexico and "probably" China.
BMW also said it was in "intensive negotiations" with suppliers to find alternative sources of parts. Carmaker Stellantis has said it has already found an alternative supplier somewhere in Europe, declining to say exactly where.
Nick Klein, vice president of global logistics firm OEC Group, says carmakers that have relied on Ukraine will need to act quickly and adapt to the new reality.
