Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, and other automakers
Production cuts one after another due to disruption in supply and demand for electronic parts containing semiconductors
Automotive semiconductors shrink due to rapid increase in demand for home appliances and 5G
The shortage of semiconductors is causing production disruptions at automakers. Getty Image Bank
Global automakers are experiencing production disruptions from the new year. Last year, in the aftermath of a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), the factory had to be stopped due to a supply disruption of major parts produced in China, but this year, the shortage of semiconductors for vehicles caused another disruption in production. At the time when automobile sales are on a recovery trend, many companies are inevitably put into production cuts, and an analysis says that warning lights have also been turned on to improve overall performance in the automobile industry.
According to Japanese media such as Kyodo News and Nippon Geizai Newspaper on the 10th, Toyota Motor Corp. decided to reduce the production of the pickup truck’tundra’ at its Texas plant in the US due to a lack of semiconductor parts. The specific scale of production reduction was not disclosed. Prior to Toyota, Nissan and Honda of Japan also announced a reduction in production, complaining of difficulties in securing semiconductors. There is also an observation that Honda’s production cuts in China will reach 50,000 units this month. Nissan Motors also decided to reduce production of the compact car’Note’, which was launched in December last year.
In addition, the Financial Times (FT) reported that Volkswagen of Germany would reduce its automobile production in Europe, North America, and China in the first quarter of this year by a total of 100,000 units due to a supply disruption in electronic parts. Volkswagen has not produced’golf’ models in Germany from last month to mid-month.
The situation is the same in the US automobile industry, such as Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA). FCA temporarily suspended the operation of its Ontario plant in Canada that produces the’Chrysler 300′, a luxury sedan, and delayed the restart of the plant in Mexico. Ford decided to stop operating its Kentucky plant in the United States on the 11th.
The reason for the shortage of semiconductors in the automobile industry is the surge in demand for PCs, servers, and home appliances due to the corona 19, and the expansion of demand due to the development of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G. Because. Bosch, the world’s largest auto parts maker, said, “We have hardly received any supply from semiconductor manufacturers,” and Continental, a major parts maker, predicted that it may take half a year to normalize the supply of semiconductors for automobiles.
Omdia, a market research firm, analyzed that “the surge in demand for semiconductors in smartphones, 5G base stations, and games is limiting the production capacity of semiconductors for vehicles.” .
If the shortage of semiconductors prolongs, it is expected to have a negative impact on the transition to the electric vehicle system. The amount of semiconductors used per electric vehicle is more than twice that of semiconductors for electronic parts of internal combustion locomotives, and it is known that 300 system semiconductors are required for autonomous vehicles.
Kim Kyung-jun reporter [email protected]
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