Audi is finding itself in a difficult position once again. The luxury automaker is facing limited production this week at two of its factories in Germany as the semiconductor chip crisis continues to wreak havoc on the industry. Automobilwoche reports the two plants are located in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.

The former factory contains assembly lines for Audi A3, A4, A5, and Q2. Neckarsulm, which is more severely impacted by the lack of chips, is home to the A6, A7, and A8. The A8, however, is only being built in a single shift this week. The rest have been idled. In general, nearly all of these factory's assembly lines have been idled since Monday until at least this coming Friday with one exception: the R8 and e-tron GT.

Both are produced at a plant in Bollinger Hofe. For now, that facility remains unaffected by the lack of chips. Audi has confirmed all factory employees affected by the idled lines are being placed on "short-term work" for now. The last time Audi halted its production lines for a whole week was last August. Even in July, numerous work shifts were canceled.

Unfortunately, Audi's German factory problems aren't expected to end anytime soon. The chip crisis is still very much with us and no one knows for sure when it'll end. At best, major relief isn't expected until sometime in the middle of 2022.

Even Toyota, which once had an abundant chip stockpile, is now running low and was forced to cut production volume not long ago. A major production effort will supposedly get underway shortly to help make up for lost time. Aside from Audi, BMW has confirmed it too is currently experiencing chip shortages. Its plant in Regensburg, where the X1 and X2 are built, has also dropped to a single shift this week instead of the usual two-shift plan.

How Audi's current production problems will affect US inventory remain uncertain and we don't know if lost time can be made up at a later date. It all depends on restocking those crucial chips.