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VW
suppliers Car Trim and ES Automobilguss, both part of Prevent
Group, triggered the disruptions by halting deliveries of seat
covers and cast iron parts for gearboxes, exposing how dependent
VW has become on some of its suppliers.
"We will of course look into questions such as multi-sourcing,
single-sourcing. And we will look at our procurement contracts
and try to optimize matters with all suppliers," Mueller told
the Hamburg Business Journalists' Club in remarks embargoed for
Tuesday.
"One could discuss at length who is to blame for the fact that
this situation went belly up, but I will not discuss it any
further," Mueller said, referring to the dispute with Prevent
Group.
Tensions between carmakers and suppliers are on the rise as both
struggle to defend profits amid slower growth in China and
rising investment costs to meet stricter emissions rules.
The need to invest in technology for electric vehicles,
smartphone compatibility and autonomous driving features has
forced a wave of consolidation among auto suppliers, narrowing
the choice of available partners for carmakers such as BMW <BMWG.DE>,
Daimler <DAIGn.DE> and Renault <RENA.PA>.
Deals in the past three years include the $12.4 billion
acquisition of TRW by Germany's ZF; Magna's <MG.TO> purchase of
Getrag for $1.9 billion; and Continental AG's 1.5-billion-euro
deal for Veyance Technologies. Fiat Chrysler <FCHA.MI> is said
to be exploring a sale of its auto parts unit Magneti Marelli.
VW and two of its parts suppliers last week resolved a contract
dispute that had hit output at more than half of the carmaker's
German plants and threatened to undermine its recovery from a
diesel emissions scandal.
A similar escalation of disputes with other suppliers is less
likely since VW's partners tend to be members of VDA, Germany's
Auto Industry Association, and follow an agreed code of conduct
for resolving disagreements.
Prevent Group, was not a member of the VDA, Mueller said.
(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by
Maria Sheahan and Mark Potter)
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