Mr. Denner, when you get up in the morning, which major topic hits your head first: the corona pandemic or the lack of chips?

Sven Astheimer

Editor responsible for corporate reporting.

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    Susanne Preuss

    Business correspondent in Stuttgart.

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      Gustav Theile

      Editor in business.

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        What always depresses me: when I get emails reporting corona deaths at Bosch.

        That is always a low blow for me.

        India is currently badly affected.

        Not only the older workforce, but also the younger ones.

        Immediately afterwards, I am concerned with the wishes of our customers.

        The lack of chips naturally plays an important role at the moment.

        How does Bosch support the workforce in India?

        We have released a special budget of 10 million euros, bring medical material on site and help with the vaccination.

        For example, we have converted sports halls into vaccination centers.

        We do what we can to protect our colleagues on site.

        Our figures show that internal infections at Bosch are very low worldwide.

        The pressure of infection comes from outside.

        We come to the chip shortage.

        Who is calling in the morning?

        The bosses of Volkswagen and Daimler?

        This goes right across the customer landscape.

        That is why we set up a task force a long time ago.

        It covers all important operational contacts and does it really well.

        In our mobility division, the topic is of course particularly serious.

        Personally, I get relatively few very urgent calls.

        Where is the level of concern particularly high?

        It's hard to say in general because it depends heavily on short-term developments. For example, a major supplier's plant in Japan burned down in April. Then we first have to clarify: which chip is affected and which vehicle manufacturer is currently installing it? Is there a second source or not? Depending on this, the level of concern varies greatly. The decisive factor for me is that customer demand for our products is very robust. We are currently looking at the business figures including April: Our sales are almost 30 percent above the previous year. But we are also 7 percent above 2019. So we have already clearly exceeded the pre-crisis level. Especially in the consumer goods business, which is still doing very well. But also in the mobility sector.The semiconductor shortage is really serious for us and our customers if, for example, no vehicles can be produced. We are working on solutions with all our might. But that's a topic that goes by. It would be much worse if the products did not meet customer requirements.

        When will the semiconductor shortage be over?

        We have difficult months ahead of us and the situation could remain tense until 2022.

        But things should at least get better in the second half of this year.

        The effects on automakers are serious.

        In total, several hundred thousand cars cannot be built.

        As the largest automotive supplier, you also have a large share in what is not built.

        Does this also threaten major recourse claims?

        Although there were shortages last year, as far as I know, no fewer cars were built in 2020 because of Bosch.

        Now the situation is much more critical.

        Also because of unforeseeable accidents at important chip manufacturers.

        We'll see what we can still catch up in the second half of the year.

        Some automakers say: around half.