Volkswagen’s purchasing chief Murat Aksel declared Tuesday that the firm has never had a supply chain shortage like the current one.
«We never used to talk to mining operators – now we know their business model,» Aksel said. «It is no longer enough to rely on Tier 1 suppliers – we need to look behind the curtains ourselves,» said Aksel at a conference in Berlin, while mentioning that Volkswagen is also in direct purchase deals in exceptional areas to tackle the situation.
The purchasing chief also stated that the company was elaborating a database to forecast geopolitical, natural, and gas supply chain risks ahead of time. Last month, the executive warned in an interview that chip shortages would extend well into the following year.