Ideal of electric vehicle start-up companyThe president of the car says the shortage of chips that has reduced global car production is likely to last until 2022.
Shen Yanan, co-founder and president of ideal Motor, said in a briefing on Wednesday that the overall chip shortage could continue until the end of the year or even early next year. We have to ask our suppliers every day, and our growing demand may bring some pressure. However, we are also very flexible in purchasing alternatives and making adjustments.
Carmaker Volkswagen, Stellantis NV, Ford MotorAnd cars.In recent weeks, it has been warned that chip shortages are expected to intensify. Some companies have suspended production and begun not to equip cars with high-tech features to deal with the crisis. According to AlixPartners's latest estimates, chip shortages could cost global automakers 110 billion dollars in sales losses.
Ideal is expected to report first-quarter results later on Wednesday, becoming the last of the three U.S.-listed electric car start-ups to report results. In the fourth quarter of last year, the Beijing-based carmaker announced a profit of 107.5 million yuan ($16.8 million), in part because of relatively low spending on research and development. Xiaopeng Motor has released a lower-than-expected loss in the first quarter.The loss of cars has also shrunk. Shares in all three companies have fallen since January after a strong rebound since investors stormed into the electric car industry last January.
It plans to spend about 3 billion yuan on research and development this year, while doubling the size of its self-driving team to about 600 people by the end of the year.
Delivery of ideal cars fell 13 per cent in the first quarter to 12579, in part because of the Lunar New year period. The carmaker delivered 5339 cars in April. Shen Yanan said that by September, monthly delivery will exceed 10000 vehicles.