Numerous North American automotive factories reduced additional 33,900 electric vehicles from their production plans last week, Automotive News reported citing AutoForecast Solutions’ latest data.
It is worth noting that apart from that, automakers had already cut 11,500 vehicle productions from their North American factories a week ago.
Alarmingly, that number indicates that the microchip shortage has not yet subsided even though the supply chain issues have started to loosen up. Another appalling fact is that only North America experienced further chip-related production cuts, as per the report.
Global chip-related production cuts as of 2023
Notably, the global semiconductor supply constraints are already in their third year of bringing distress to the automotive industry. It began during the COVID-19 Pandemic outbreak in 2020. The automotive industry halted production as people were forced to stay at home. In effect, electronics demand surged, pushing suppliers to focus on electronic manufacturers, leading to the global shortage of semiconductor chips for EVs.
In fact, it has prompted global automakers to cut approximately 350,000 vehicles from their production plans as of 2023.
Even more, that amount is projected to reach 2.81 million by the year’s end, as per AutoForecast Solutions. Meanwhile, Japan’s Honda and other automakers recently expressed their assessment that the chip shortage is now at its lowest point. However, they still anticipate the chip shortage issues to last through the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.
The breakdown of production cuts by global automakers as of 2023 and the anticipated number by the end of the year are provided below:
| 2023 YEAR TO DATE | 2023 PROJECTED | |
| China* | 16,200 | 190,600 |
| Middle East/Africa* | 1,500 | 21,900 |
| Rest of Asia* | 184,300 | 721,600 |
| North America | 89,200 | 924,600 |
| Europe | 42,300 | 812,400 |
| South America* | 16,400 | 138,100 |
| Total | 349,900 | 2,809,200 |
Nonetheless, AutoForecast Solutions’s VP of global vehicle forecasting Sam Fiorani projected that the vehicle inventory would start to improve in 2023 and continue in the following year.
“We’re looking at a continual improvement through 2023 and into 2024. Some 10 million units of production in 2021 were lost worldwide. This year, we’re expecting less than 3 million to be lost … and we’re watching more and more companies have steadier supplies of chips.”
Sam Fiorani, AutoForecast Solutions’s VP of global vehicle forecasting
That said, buyers would experience reduced wait times as the global chip shortage eases. Springtide North Wealth Advisory also noted that the demand for gadgets has also decreased due to economic uncertainty.
