Chip shortage to dent car production

A global shortage of automotive chips may slash the production of light vehicles by 672,000 units in the first three months of 2021, a data company warns.

IHS Markit has made the grim forecast and says there is a risk disruption to manufacturing will continue into the third quarter.

Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, Subaru, Nissan and Stellantis have already cut output this year because of the shortage.

Volkswagen, Mazda and General Motors (GM) also say the supply constraints will impact on production at some of their plants in February, reports Reuters.

David Barnas, a GM spokesman, says: “Despite our mitigation efforts, the semiconductor shortage will impact GM production in 2021.

“Our supply chain organisation is working closely with our supply base to find solutions for our suppliers’ semiconductor requirements and to mitigate impacts on GM.”

IHS predicts plants in China will suffer the most in the first quarter, with planned production falling by nearly 250,000 units.

AutoForecast Solutions, which tracks industry production plans, says lost global production because of the chip shortage is 564,000 vehicles so far. It estimates the total impact this year could be 964,000 units.

Chipmakers in Taiwan have promised to increase their output to help address the problem.