Cuts continued this week in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, but the worst of the microchip shortage appears to be behind the industry.
Automakers removed 80,710 vehicles from their global production schedules because of the microchip shortage this week, according to the latest estimate by AutoForecast Solutions.
European assembly plants were most impacted by the chip shortage, with companies there eliminating 48,813 vehicles from production plans. At Asian factories outside of China, 30,558 vehicles were eliminated, along with 1,339 vehicles in the Middle East and Africa.
No further cuts were reported in North America, China or South America, as semiconductor supply continues to improve worldwide.
“Barring trade relations problems, automotive should not see industry-wide interruptions on a grand scale moving forward and the gap between chip demand and supply will continue to ease,” Sam Fiorani, AutoForecast Solutions vice president of global vehicle forecasting, said in an email.
The breakdown
| 2023 YEAR TO DATE | 2023 PROJECTED | North America* | 800,182 | 952,701 |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | 451,634 | 584,084 |
| China* | 389,112 | 431,294 |
| Rest of Asia | 187,524 | 318,499 |
| South America* | 74,851 | 93,113 |
| Middle East/Africa | 28,998 | 28,998 |
| Total | 1,932,301 | 2,408,690 |
| *Unchanged from a week earlier | ||
