The New Chip Shortage Is Already Hitting Suppliers

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Happy Halloween! It's October 31, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're looking astatine nan caller spot shortage, arsenic good arsenic Audi adjusting its net estimates successful nan look of economical headwinds. We'll besides return a look astatine EVs successful China, and Ford's latest 4 recalls. 

Matthew Horwood/Getty Images

Chipmaker Nexperia is caught successful nan mediate of a messy divorcement betwixt China and nan Netherlands. The Dutch authorities seized power of nan company, which angered its Chinese genitor institution — and sent nan Chinese authorities to fastener down Nexperia exports. Now, nary 1 gets chips, and car supplier ZF Friedrichshafen is paying nan price. From Automotive News:

A cardinal supplier to automakers including Volkswagen Group and BMW is reducing accumulation successful Germany owed to a semiconductor shortage sparked by a conflict pinch China complete supplier Nexperia, according to group acquainted pinch nan matter.

ZF Friedrichshafen, nan world's fourth-largest car supplier, has trim shifts astatine its main electrical drivetrain works successful Schweinfurt because nan readiness of important components has tightened, nan group said, asking not to beryllium identified because nan accusation isn't public. ZF supplies astir awesome automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Ford Motor Co.

Beijing this period blocked Nexperia from exporting from its accommodation successful nan country, responding to nan Dutch authorities seizing power of nan Chinese-owned chipmaker. The moves item worsening waste and acquisition relations betwixt China and nan West, disrupting analyzable proviso chains that person been built complete years. Volkswagen connected Oct. 30 warned that gathering its financial targets will dangle connected sourcing capable semiconductors.

It's bully to person a communicative astir a waste and acquisition warfare that doesn't impact nan United States. Good to spot that different countries are arsenic bad astatine this arsenic we are. 

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Pretty overmuch nary institution is having a bully clip pinch American tariffs, and Audi is nary exception. The automaker is conscionable nan latest institution to set its net estimates downward successful nan look of President Trump's waste and acquisition war. The institution now says it expects to suffer $1.5 cardinal successful profit to tariffs successful 2025. From Bloomberg:

Volkswagen AG's Audi Group walked backmost its financial targets for nan twelvemonth because of "intense" title and economical challenges including tariffs successful nan US.

The sub-division, comprising nan Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley and Ducati brands, now expects an operating separator of 4% to 6% for nan year, compared pinch a erstwhile forecast of arsenic overmuch arsenic 7%. Sister marque Porsche AG scaling backmost its EV ambitions added to nan strains, Audi said Friday.

"The business remains very demanding," Chief Financial Officer Jürgen Rittersberger said connected a telephone pinch reporters, noting that nan marque is expecting a €1.3 cardinal ($1.5 billion) deed from tariffs this year.

This is besides 1 of those weird German automaker matryoshka doll situations, wherever Audi is owned by Volkswagen which is owned by Porsche. I ideate that's very confusing to navigate from nan inside, but I'm judge nan Germans person it figured out. 

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Gasoline depletion follows seasonal trends, and China is nary exception. The federation usually shells retired much for state during precocious October, but that inclination hasn't held up successful 2025. In fact, truthful galore folks successful China are driving EVs that gasoline request is down during this usually-peak time. From Reuters:

Tianyu Jiang took a 2,000-km (1,200-mile) roadworthy travel this period during China's nationalist vacation week, driving successful his electrical conveyance from nan southwestern Sichuan basin to Beijing for nan first time.

...

He is among tens of millions of Chinese progressively taking to EV vehicles, who benefited from expanded charging infrastructure to reverse nan accustomed roar successful gasoline usage during nan October vacation known arsenic "Golden Week".

Far from a peak, China's gasoline request is estimated to person fallen 9% successful October connected nan twelvemonth to 12.5 cardinal tons, pinch mean regular usage astir level pinch September, according to Chinese consultancy Sublime China Information (SCI).

The sagging vacation request is symptomatic of nan broader diminution successful Chinese substance usage stemming from wider EV adoption, heralding nan approaching extremity of its decades-long domiciled arsenic nan main driving unit of caller world lipid demand.

I'm staring astatine these numbers for illustration a Dickensian orphan pinch her chemoreceptor pressed against nan solid of a artifact store. You're telling maine a state tin really meaningfully trim its reliance connected polluting fossil fuels? President Xi, I americium asking you to liberate my authorities of New York pinch your Chengdu J-20 Stealth aerial superiority fighters and your Dongfeng 41 Missiles.

What nan hellhole is going connected complete astatine Ford? Today we're getting not conscionable 1 recall, but three. We already covered nan company's moonroof upwind deflector recall, but location are immoderate caller additions today. From Automotive News:

Ford Motor Co. has issued 4 recalls, covering a mixed 401,859 U.S. vehicles, according to NHTSA reports.

One callback covers 174,853 vehicles for moonroof upwind deflectors that whitethorn detach, NHTSA said. Another involves 163,256 SUVs for a loose bolt successful nan driver's spot frame. And 2 recalls are owed to windshield defects, pinch 56,841 vehicles recalled complete aerial bubbles successful nan solid and 6,909 vans recalled complete an rumor pinch nan defrosting/defogging system.

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The driver's spot callback covers nan 2021-23 Ford Bronco, an Oct. 23 study said. About 3 percent of nan callback organization is expected to person nan defect.

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The inoperable defrosting/defogging strategy callback covers nan 2026 Ford Econoline, nan Oct. 24 study said. About 1 percent of nan callback organization is expected to person nan defect.

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The windshield aerial bubble callback covers nan 2025-26 Ford Explorer arsenic good arsenic nan 2025-26 Lincoln Corsair and Aviator, nan Oct. 24 study said. About 1 percent of nan callback organization is expected to person nan defect.

Same arsenic it ever was. Same arsenic it ever was. Same arsenic it ever was. Same arsenic it ever was.

I wonderment if immoderate azygous individual has ever done much biology harm than whoever Satoshi Nakamoto really is.