R. Shankar, an Indian expatriate living in Bahrain, no longer begins his days with a cup of tea or a good morning. He now awakens to an odd duty. “Dial the auto shop.”
The work is easy. Check to see if the car’s replacement parts have arrived.
Since he began waiting for essential parts to arrive at the service station, it has been more than a month since his daily journey.
They hang up on me after each call and say they’re “not quite ready.”
“Awaiting the arrival of parts.” According to Shankar, it causes a great deal of anguish because humans need a vehicle to get around because they cannot exist without access to oxygen, water, and shelter.
However, this is not just Shankar’s situation; many people in this place are going through the same ordeal due to a lack of replacement components.
Shankar is one of Bahrain’s countless citizens who sent their autos to servicing stations and now lives in misery.
The Daily Tribune contacted industry specialists here in order to determine the underlying source of this situation.
And they all place full responsibility for the crisis’ escalation on the supply chain crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The rising “chip crisis,” where the demand for integrated circuits or “semiconductor chips” exceeds the supply due to supply chain problems and logistics, is also a factor.
During the epidemic season, The Daily Tribune had written about the chip crisis.
Droughts in Taiwan in the summer of 2021 and other severe weather events were also important contributing factors.
The epidemic, according to Mohammed Zaki, general manager of Zayani Motors, is to blame for the shortage of replacement components.
He also emphasizes that no particular brand is affected by the situation.
He added that there is a shortage even for brand-new cars, saying “Every brand has the same issue.”
The lack of chips that power dashboards, power winders, and other equipment has a significant negative influence on the worldwide vehicle industry.
As a result, the cost of both new and secondhand cars rises.
“The shutdown has increased the cost of logistics, and because they are now selling in bulk rather than individually, there are delays in the arrival of parts.”
He also says that China’s massive losses during the COVID-19 pandemic are to blame for the current shortfall.
Since then, there has been problems. The delivery delay is unprecedented, according to experts, and some cars are stranded in car service facilities for two to three months.
An increase in demand since the beginning of 2022 has made the situation worse.
According to estimates, the global auto industry lost $210 billion in income as a result of the shortfall in 2022.
According to reports, the automotive sector stopped manufacturing of 11.3 million vehicles last year due to a chip shortage.