Mercedes won’t offer V8s in 2022: Report

MERCEDES-BENZ is restricting production of its V8 engines as the global semiconductor and microprocessor supply shortage intensifies, although the company’s Australian arm says this market is unaffected for the time being.

According to a leaked memo circulated by US automotive publication The Detroit Bureau, the German manufacturer will be unable to supply its V8 engines for all 2022 model year vehicles – excluding S580 and S580 Maybach models considered necessary to the Chinese and US markets.

The manufacturer issued a statement to The Detroit Bureau citing that the limited availability of some components, including semiconductors and microprocessors, had forced its hand in the matter.

Benz says it was left with no choice but to prioritise what models will be available with V8 engines and made the decision to restrict availability to all but two S-Class-based models.

More than 10 models are affected by the decision, including a range of AMG models. The German company noted that it is attempting to rectify the issue as soon as possible and that it is working closely with its dealers to minimise impacts on its customers, the report said. 

The decision will impact C, E, G, GLC, GLE, and GLS-Class models powered by the Mercedes-Benz 4.0-litre V8 biturbo engine.

Mercedes-Benz is not alone in being impacted by the global semiconductor shortage. It is estimated the production of over 107,000 vehicles was impacted by the predicament last week with Ford, GM, Honda, Nissan, and Stellantis affected.

A report from AutoForecast Solutions estimates 7.1 million vehicles will be impacted by the shortage before it is resolved with 5.96 million affected so far.

In the report, Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius estimated that the shortage will continue until mid-2022.

“The technology content in cars is rising. So even if the production volume of cars would stay the same, you have more content in the cars. So, in the midterm, even though I realise that probably in 2022, we’re going to talk about this as well,” Mr Kallenius told AutoForecast Solutions.

“So, you have to bear with us here, with a level of uncertainty that we have to live with. Improving the supply stability, needless to say, is a top priority for us,” he concluded.

GoAuto understands semiconductor and microprocessor production levels are rising to address the issue. 

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s CEO Dr. C.C. Wei was quoted recently as saying he believes the shortage for automotive customers is already easing. Similar sentiments have been reported by other chipmakers, such as NXP and Texas Instruments.

It is also understood the shortage will not affect the Australian market with local sources telling GoAuto the issue centres around MY22 models for Chinese and US markets only.

“Although I’m unable to comment in detail about other markets, we understand this is predominantly an issue for the United States,” said Mercedes-Benz Australia media relations and product communications manager Ryan Lewis.

“Mercedes-Benz is continuously improving our vehicles. This includes regular updates which improve, for example, driveability and driving comfort. The quality assurance process of this model year update (MY22) has not yet been completed for certain model series in some markets.

“In addition, the general impact surround semiconductor supply is making it difficult for our vehicle portfolio to be produced smoothly. Fortunately, and at this stage, there’s no change to the local line-up.”