THE SUDDEN unavailability a decade ago of cars in “tuxedo black”, “rugged brown” or “royal red” highlighted the vulnerability of the industry’s global supply chain. The abrupt closure of the only factory making a vital pigment because of its proximity to the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan affected most of the world’s big carmakers. A side-effect of a global pandemic has denied carmakers a more vital component.
A shortage of semiconductors has left car firms unable to install the complex electronics that control entertainment systems, safety features and advanced driving aids. Many have cut assembly-line shifts. Some have temporarily closed factories. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer of the Centre Automotive Research,
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