German auto industry noticeably affected by supply bottlenecks: ifo

BERLIN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The business situation for Germany's car manufacturers and their suppliers "cooled noticeably" in September as the corresponding indicator plummeted from 32.0 points in the previous month to 13.2 points, the ifo Institute said on Monday.$$$"The latest figures show that the automotive industry is the industry most seriously affected by supply bottlenecks for intermediate products," said Oliver Falck, director of the ifo Center for Industrial Organization and New Technologies.$$$In July, the figure was still 52.9 points.$$$German car manufacturers and suppliers are heavily affected by the global chip shortage. In many plants, production had to be halted, paused or reduced. Last week, Germany's largest carmaker Volkswagen announced that production restrictions at the Wolfsburg headquarter were extended well into October.$$$BMW is expecting that the chip shortage would affect the automotive industry for at least another six months. "I expect the general shortage in the supply chain to last into the next six to twelve months," BMW Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Oliver Zipse recently said.$$$The ifo Institute noted that the "only positive impetus is coming from abroad" as export expectations of the German automotive industry in September improved significantly. The corresponding indicator rose from 17.0 points in August to 34.5 points.$$$The development of export expectations could have a "positive impact on production expectations," as the indicator also rose slightly to 37.4 points in September, the ifo Institute said. Enditem$$$

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