<
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/how-cheap-component-could-help-kill-off-combustion-cars-2022-05-30/>
"LONDON/BERLIN, May 30 (Reuters) - The humble wire harness, a cheap component
that bundles cables together, has become an unlikely scourge of the auto
industry. Some predict it could hasten the downfall of combustion cars.
Supplies of the auto part were choked by the war in Ukraine, which is home to a
significant chunk of the world's production, with wire harnesses made there
fitted in hundreds of thousands of new vehicles every year.
These low-tech and low-margin parts - made from wire, plastic and rubber with
lots of low-cost manual labour - may not command the kudos of microchips and
motors, yet cars can't be built without them.
The supply crunch could accelerate the plans of some legacy auto firms to
switch to a new generation of lighter, machine-made harnesses designed for
electric vehicles, according to interviews with more than a dozen industry
players and experts.
"This is just one more rationale for the industry to make the transition to
electric quicker," said Sam Fiorani, head of production forecasting firm
AutoForecast Solutions."
Via Doug Senko.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
