The chip shortage mostly affects cheap parts
Daimler partnered with Nvidia to develop more advanced chips
The rest of the industry is following as well
Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, is moving to more advanced and more expensive electronic chips in a bid to escape the current shortage that limits its production.
According to Ola Kallenius, Daimler’s CEO, the parts that are currently the rarest are relatively simple chips that take care of fairly basic functions in cars, like activating the door locks.
Since almost every car on the market requires dozens of these same components, demand is extremely high for them in the automotive industry, but also outside of its, since a big part of the problem is that chip manufacturers are prioritising tech companies who make phones and other electronic devices which use very similar parts,
Daimler thinks this problem could be curbed by using more expensive chips that are specially designed for their function and are thus less in demand.
The company partnered with Nvidia, a tech company known for making computer parts, in order to develop their own electronic chips that will have larger capacities.
These new parts could allow automakers to reduce the number of them used in their vehicles since they could be made to control more than one feature.
Other automakers seem to agree, since they are also beginning to look for partnerships with tech companies in order to secure a more consistent supply of chips.
This is especially important for Daimler because Mercedes-Benz has been the most affected luxury car brand in the United States, with sales falling 21% between July and September when compared to 2020.
