Mercedes CEO sees semiconductor shortage dragging on into 2023

MUNICH (Reuters) -The global shortage of semiconductor chips will last throughout this year and into 2023, the chief executive at premium German carmaker Mercedes-Benz said on Wednesday.

“The semiconductor situation is very present and will be a challenge for the industry throughout this year and into next year,” CEO Ola Kaellenius said at the Reuters Automotive Europe conference in Munich.

He said that despite market volatility, the carmaker still has a strong order backlog.

“We have not seen any signs yet that demand is going south,” Kaellenius said.

He said that as the auto industry makes the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), Mercedes-Benz will play a “more active role” throughout its supply chain all the way to where raw materials are mined.

“We don’t stop at battery cell factories… we have to go through the whole value chain here because there so much is in motion,” Kaellenius said.

He added that it will take a decade to transition the carmaker’s engine plants to making only fully electric cars, but added that he was confident it could be managed in an orderly fashion.

(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; writing by Nick Carey; editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)