Latin America. In the framework of the INA PAACE Automechanika Mexico City 2022, the president of the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry (AMIA), José Zoraya, recalled that the shortage of raw material is one of the biggest challenges of the industry.
"Today we are falling short of demand," said Zoraya, who nevertheless forecast a better position in terms of supply by the end of this year.
"As long as there is more supply of semiconductors, we will be able to manufacture a greater number of vehicles," he said in the face of a deficit that, as he has acknowledged on other occasions, has forced the automotive industry to close plants, delay orders and face the increase in prices of its inputs.
As Zoraya has previously explained, the beginning of the pandemic brought with it an increase in the demand for semiconductors by the electronic devices sector (cell phones, computers, tablets, among others) and a reduction for the automotive area.
Hence, the few manufacturers in the world redirected their production to the electronic sector. As demand in the automotive sector increases, the capacity to supply this industry has been insufficient. This has led to customer waiting lists to get certain vehicle models.
Currently, the two countries that concentrate semiconductor manufacturing in the world are Taiwan, whose capacity reaches 92%, and South Korea, with the remaining 8%. Hence, decentralization in other continents such as Europe and America could generate a greater acquisition of these materials in different suppliers.
Zoraya is confident that this volume of production will increase from the installation of several plants in the United States, a country against which the Mexican industry seeks to position itself in the export of vehicles.
Key to this is the Agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC). According to the first biannual report of the White House Trade Representation (USTR), North America increased the capture of automotive investments during the first two years of the USMCA.
"The USMCA contains new rules of origin designed to incentivize the production of automobiles and auto parts in the United States and North America. Over the past two years, car and parts producers have made significant investments in North American production to meet those requirements and have demonstrated compliance with the new standards," the report said.
On the other hand, the president of the AMLA indicated that the automotive industry is in a process of transition to electromobility, so itneeds clean energy to be sufficient, available and at a competitive price.
"The commitment of the sector is that the manufacture of these vehicles will be done with clean energy and it could be a problem not to have them," he warned.
