Chip Shortage Has Some Carmakers Cutting Back on Safety Features: Reports

A worker assembles Volkswagen ID.5 electric cars at the company's Zwickau plant in Zwickau, Germany, on Jan. 27, 2022. (Jens Schlueter/Getty Images)

The ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage that has plagued the auto industry has forced some carmakers to cut back on safety features in vehicles, according to reports.

The chip shortage, caused by increased demand during the COVID-19 pandemic amid closures and disruptions along with supply chain issues, has been further worsened by skyrocketing inflation, leaving automakers in a tight spot.

It has also resulted in a number of companies cutting production.

Volkswagen is among the brands that have had to cut back on safety features such as blind spot monitoring systems on some models in part owing to a scarcity of sensors, according to a report by Edmunds.

Meanwhile, both Audi and Volkswagen have also removed rear cross-traffic alerts in exchange for reduced prices, according to the outlet. However, the situation is fluid and may change in the future if the chip shortage sees some relief.

Blind spot monitoring systems, while not mandated by regulations, can reduce collisions by over 20 percent, studies show.

A Volkswagen spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement: “Like other automakers, we continue to experience intermittent shortages of certain components that impact our ability to offer certain features. We recognize the importance customers place on features like blind spot monitor/rear traffic alert, and while we are diligently working to build our vehicles as originally planned, we have had to remove some features from time to time from some of our vehicles.”

The Epoch Times has contacted Audi for comment.

In September Volkswagen Australia director of passenger cars, Michal Szaniecki, told Car Expert that the situation regarding the lack of semiconductor chips was “not a desirable” one and that the company was not “glossing it over.”

“The brand has been full and frank about the semi-conductor shortage since it began to bite. We can say, however, that the high level of advanced safety equipment in our cars and SUVs enables Volkswagen to continue offering five-star vehicles,” Szaniecki said.

‘Automakers in Tight Spot’

Jessica Cicchino, vice president of research for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), told Fox Business that the lack of semiconductors leaves automakers in a tight spot when materials that are needed for some of the safety technology aren’t available.

“It really shifts the burden on the consumers who are already having a hard time shopping for a car,” she said.

The cuts to car safety features come as virtually every automaker bar Tesla experienced lower-than-expected U.S. light-vehicle sales in the first half of 2022.

Automakers sold 6.8 million new vehicles in the first six months of the year, down 18 percent from a year earlier, according to the Automotive News Research and Data Center.

Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, told Automotive News that the decline in sales was not because of a lack of demand, despite soaring vehicle prices, adding that the “big question is whether the automakers can produce at a level to satisfy that demand and boost sales.”

While the chip shortage may be impacting some vehicles, carmakers like BMW AG, Mercedes Benz AG, and Daimler Truck Holding AG recently said they are now getting their hands on enough of the chips to manufacture at full capacity.

“It’s unfortunate that the chip shortage may prevent a new model from coming with the latest safety features that can prevent crashes and injuries,” Jake Fisher, senior director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports, told Fox Business.

“After all, better safety is one of the leading reasons people decide to upgrade their car in the first place,” he said. “However, most automakers have the required chips to keep producing their models without removing equipment—and a smart shopper will avoid the models that do.”