By Rachel More
BERLIN (Reuters) -Volkswagen said on Tuesday it was preparing to pause production of two key models but denied any connection with a stand-off over chipmaker Nexperia putting pressure on supply chains.
Pauses in production of the Golf and Tiguan models this week have been “long planned” to deal with inventory matters, coinciding with the autumn holidays, a spokesperson told Reuters.
The Bild newspaper first reported on the plans, citing sources from the supplier network, and said the measures were connected to a dispute over Dutch chipmaker Nexperia.
This was “not accurate”, the spokesperson said.
The production pauses are expected to be complete by the end of the week, he added.
Dutch computer chip maker Nexperia, which is a subsidiary of China’s Wingtech, is at the centre of a stand-off threatening global auto supply chains.
The Dutch government seized control over Nexperia on September 30, citing intellectual property concerns. In response, the Chinese government banned exports of the company’s finished products.
While not sophisticated, Nexperia’s chips are widely used in high volumes in cars, prompting concerns over possible disruptions to auto production.
Volkswagen has said it is assessing the impact of Nexperia chip restrictions on its business.
(Reporting by Rachel More, Kirsti Knolle; editing by Matthias Williams and Tomasz Janowski)
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