After Tesla, Volvo also halts production

Parts shortages are increasing across Europe as ships carrying them try to avoid the Black Sea.

Volvo, which is majority-owned by the Chinese company Geely, will suspend production at its Ghent factory in Belgium next week. This forced three-day shutdown was unavoidable due to delays in delivery of parts from China caused by the security situation in the Red Sea. Earlier this week, Tesla decided to suspend most of its Berlin Gigafactory’s production for two weeks.

Main missing parts, and not least, the gearboxes! The Chinese-Swedish manufacturer is the second company after Tesla to decide on a production halt, while the risks of attacks on commercial ships have led to rerouting most vessels along a southern route around South Africa, bypassing the Suez Canal. A journey more than twice as long, adding about 10 days and 1 million dollars in fuel costs to the travel from Asia to Europe.

Whether it’s Volvo or Tesla, no delays in delivering new vehicles seem to be expected.