The recent "Russia-Ukraine" incident has attracted the attention of countless people at home and abroad, and the search volume of the keyword "Russia-Ukraine" has soared, opening a tug-of-war on the hot search list at the beginning of 2022. Although we are not international hotspot surveyors, their every move also touches our nerves.
The author | ganjing
The picture | the web
At a time when the global industrial chain is highly embedded, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the temporary instability in the industrial chain of the two countries have caused an impact on the global automobile industry. In particular, the supply of precious metals such as palladium and nickel and inert gases such as neon, which are required for automobile production, is reduced.
First, Ukraine, as a gas exporter, supplies 70 percent of the world's neon, 40 percent of krypton and 30 percent of the krypton, all three of which are key materials for making chips. Once the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is further intensified, it will inevitably impact the supply of neon gas, which will then trigger chip turmoil, resulting in rising production costs and tight supply.
Secondly, Russia is a major supplier of a variety of key metal materials in the world, among which the precious metal palladium required for the catalytic exhaust purifier used to purify automobile exhaust gas accounts for more than 40% of the global supply of palladium.
In this way, on the one hand, Ukraine involves the "brain" of the car, and on the other hand, Russia, which is a metal raw material. If the factories producing these materials are blown up or shut down in a conflict, there will be a large-scale supply outage, which is bound to have a significant impact on the global automobile manufacturing industry.
Experts "debunked the rumors": don't panic, things are not as bad as imagined!
First of all, in chip manufacturing, the demand for neon, krypton, and xenon is not high, and after experiencing the Crimean crisis, many manufacturers have done enough reserve work.
Second, these gases, as a product of the steel industry, are not unique to Ukraine alone. Many countries and regions around the world, especially in countries and regions with developed steel industries, can be supplied. For example, the mainland, as the world's largest steel industry base today, has sufficient gas production capacity.
Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Mainland Association, also pointed out that the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the supply of chips is relatively limited. At present, the rare gas inventory of global semiconductor companies has been used normally for 6 months without any problems.
The U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association has also previously said that Russia and Ukraine are only a small market in the chip industry, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will not pose a threat to chip supply.
Chip device leaders also said they were looking for other sources of the small amount of neon gas used in their factories in case the conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupted supplies.
In addition, "most chip companies said that they have made sufficient preparations to accelerate the construction of a diversified supply chain system to cope with the possible sharp supply shortage, so the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict may not be so dramatic."
Leaving the chip, how to move forward on the road to intelligence
In recent years, with the continuous development of science and technology, countries have paid more and more attention to the development of high-tech fields. Among them, the development of chips has attracted the most attention, and the value of "as a brain" is self-evident.
Especially behind the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, it is inseparable from the promotion of AI chips, if there is no chip, how should intelligent technology develop?
Russia gave the answer. In the case of almost zero development in its own high-end chip field, Russia still maintains the development of high-end technology. Why? Because Russia has something to replace cutting-edge chips - crystal oscillators.
We all know that the operating principle of the chip is supported by semiconductor technology. Crystal oscillators, on the other hand, simulate circuit operation by allowing themselves to produce high-precision oscillations. So the chip is an dispensable existence for Russia, of course, it is best to have it, and it is harmless to have it.
It can be seen that the impact of "Russia and Ukraine" on the chip industry is not large. But for auto parts and OEMs, it is not so optimistic.
OEMs and parts supply chains suffered setbacks
Automobiles are a global industry that involves the whole body. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have cast a shadow over the global automotive supply chain system.
The Zwickau plant, the parent plant of the Volkswagen Group ID family, and the Glass Plant in Dresden, were shut down for four and three days respectively. The plant shutdown was due to the suspension of supply from a Ukrainian supplier of automotive wiring harnesses. Considering that there is no sign of a peace agreement in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict for the time being, the two factories cannot guarantee that the wiring harness supply problem will be resolved next week.
The huge gap in European manufacturers represented by Volkswagen comes from Leoni's Ukrainian subsidiary. As one of the world's leading suppliers of automotive wiring harnesses and communication networks, LEONI has two sub-plants with a total of more than 7,000 people in the southwest region of Ukraine, and supplies automotive plants in almost all countries in Eastern Europe. At present, Leni's two Ukrainian factories have been closed indefinitely.
In addition to Leoni, Japanese supplier Sumitomo Electric also has a 6,000-person wire harness factory in Ukraine, which has also been stopped. Aptiv also announced that it will transfer all production capacity of its Ukrainian plant in the coming months.
South Korean automaker Hyundai, at its headquarters in Seoul, confirmed that it had closed its car production plant in St.Petersburg, Russia, on March 1 due to a shortage of semiconductor supplies, which will last five days.
Renault also said it would suspend some operations at its russian-based auto assembly plant due to parts shortages and transportation difficulties. Finnish tire manufacturers also said in foreign media interviews that some key product lines are being transferred from Russia to Finland and the United States.
The spread of the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine has directly affected the supply chains of many car companies, and the supply chain of the automobile manufacturing industry with global characteristics is particularly vulnerable. The factories of many international big-name car companies in Russia and Ukraine have been shut down, shut down, closed and transferred many business areas.
It can be said that the automobile manufacturing industry is an important symbol of modern manufacturing, and the parts and components are an important part of the automobile manufacturing industry and have become an indispensable part of the global automotive industry chain.
As the situation in Russia and Ukraine deteriorates and the supply of parts and components needed by the automobile manufacturing industry is affected, automakers need to find alternative suppliers in the short and medium term to ensure their normal operations and reduce losses. Minimizing losses is an important issue for OEMs and parts manufacturers to face next.
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