World News for Students of English

13-09-2021 07:00

Car manufacturers are busy showing new electric vehicles at the Munich, Germany, car show; however, the global shortage of semiconductor chips is casting a shadow over the event.

The show is the car industry’s first major global event since the start of the pandemic, with all big companies taking part. German carmaker Volkswagen made headline news with its ID LIFE, a preview of its upcoming compact electric city car, and the company hopes to put on sale in 2025. The estimated price is less than 24,000 dollars. Electric cars require high-tech electronics, which is a problem right now, as well as rising costs for material.

As a result of few chips, carmakers from General Motors to Toyota have been forced to reduce what they make. The news of supply problems keeps coming, and some companies already confirmed that shortages could linger into 2022 and even the year after. However, the severity of the problem should ease.

Difficult words: semiconductor chip (an electric part with many details), cast a shadow (to make something seem bad), linger (to stay in place beyond the expected time).

You can watch the video news lower on this page.