According to specialists from JD Power and LMC Automotive, US car sales are expected to fall in August as the global semiconductor shortage and the rapid spread of the Delta version of COVID-19 have affected
stocks from dealers, reports Reuters, quoted by Agerpres.
Consulting firms expect a 14.3% decline in new car deliveries in August to 987,100 units,
compared to the similar period in 2020.
“Global demand for light commercial vehicles remains under pressure due to stock pressures caused by a lack of semiconductors and supply chain problems,” said Jeff Schuster of LMC.
Dealers currently have about 942,000 vehicles in stock, up from about three million two years ago, according to JD Power and LMC Automotive.
“The industry does not have enough stocks at dealers to meet strong consumer demand. The consequence is a decrease in vehicle sales, although transaction prices are high, “said Thomas King of JD Power.
According to the quoted source, even in September the two consulting companies do not expect an improvement, given that car manufacturers are still reducing production and problems in supply chains will persist.
JD Power and LMC Automotive have worsened their estimates of global light commercial vehicle sales by two million units to 83.8 million units.
The US car market is the second largest in the world, after China.
This month, US President Joe Biden took a step towards meeting his goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with a decree providing for half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 to be electric, a decision that has support from major US and foreign automakers.
Great Britain production at a new low
According to SMMT, UK car production fell to a new low in July, hitting the worst performance for this month since 1956 due to a shortage of semiconductors, plant shutdowns and the absence of employees due to the pandemic. coronavirus, CNBC reports.
According to SMMT, carmakers in the UK manufactured only 53,438 vehicles in July, up 37.6%
few compared to July 2020.
Mike Hawes, CEO of SMMT, said in a statement that the data highlighted “the extremely difficult conditions that British carmakers continue to face”.
Hawes also said that while the impact of the mandatory self-isolation of people who are notified by an application on the phone, if they came in contact with someone tested positive for Covid-19 will decrease with the change in rules, the global semiconductor deficit shows no signs of abating. .
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Today’s vehicles have dozens of microchips that control steering, acceleration, windows and multimedia systems, and the UK has increased production of electric cars, which have more chips.
About 26% of cars built by UK manufacturers in July were either electric or hybrid and hybrid electric, SMMT said, adding that this is a new record.
Car factories in the UK have produced 126,757 such vehicles since the beginning of the year.
Several automakers canceled semiconductor orders at the start of the pandemic because they were worried about declining sales. But when sales recovered faster than expected, the car giants found themselves at the end of the line.
Volvo, Volkswagen and Toyota announced last week that they will have to cut production further if there is no urgent solution to the chip crisis.
The world’s largest chip maker is announcing price increases
Also last week, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd (TSMC), the world’s largest contact chip maker, announced it would raise prices by 20%, Reuters reports.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Taiwanese company intends to increase prices by 10% for state-of-the-art semiconductors and by 20% on the prices of less advanced chips used in the automotive industry.
The increase will take effect in late 2021 or early 2022, so consumers will pay more for electronic products.
TSMC representatives did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. However, last month, TSMC’s management assured that the shortage of semiconductors facing the automotive industry will gradually attenuate for its customers in the third quarter of 2021, but problems with production capacity could expand in 2022.
Recently, sources who wished to remain anonymous told Reuters that TSMC is considering a plan to invest tens of billions of dollars higher than previously announced in Arizona at the factories where it will produce chips, but is not very interested in prospects for a plant in Europe.
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