Automakers cut 32,900 vehicles from their global production plans over the last week as the microchip shortage continues to weigh on vehicle output.
Automakers cut 32,900 vehicles from their global production plans over the last week as the microchip shortage continues to weigh on vehicle output, according to the latest estimate by AutoForecast Solutions
More than half of the cuts were at assembly plants in South America, where about 16,600 vehicles were lost, AFS said. About 9,300 vehicles were axed in Asia outside of China, along with 6,100 in North America and 1,000 in Europe.
Companies have cut about 3.16 million vehicles from their production schedules this year, in addition to the roughly 10.5 million units that were lost in 2021.
Even as companies signal long-term optimism about chip availability, shortages continue to weigh on production in the short term. For instance, Toyota Motor Corp. said last week that its global output fell 8.6 percent in July from a year earlier, the fourth straight month of declines, in part due to the microchip shortage.
The chip shortage is expected to continue until at least mid-2023, when the industry should begin to see an “easing of production losses,” said Sam Fiorani, AFS vice president of global vehicle forecasting.
Source: AutoForecast Solutions Inc.