the microchip crisis strikes again

The microchip crisis reap another victim. To the already long list of manufacturers that have had to slow down, or even stop, the production of their vehicles due to the shortage of semiconductors is also added Mazda. The Japanese have in fact announced that they are forced to reduce production in two plants and, at the same time, to revise their annual production estimates downwards.

The Shortage of chips and semiconductors exploded over the summer and, despite all attempts to minimize its effects, it has had a decidedly negative impact on a sector already in severe crisis. Unleashed by Covid-19, the semiconductor crisis has forced manufacturers such as FCA, Ford, Toyota, Mercedes, Nissan and Tesla to shut down some of the production lines and has further aggravated the “health” of an economic and production sector already in difficulty since March 2020. The last year’s spring lockdown had almost zeroed new car sales around the world: now that the numbers were painfully returning to 2019 levels, manufacturers have to deal with another adverse event.

As mentioned initially, too Mazda it adds to the list of manufacturers whose production is affected by the shortage of semiconductors. The Japanese manufacturer has announced that starting tomorrow it will be forced to stop the night shifts in the two plants in Japan western for a total of 10 days in the coming weeks. A similar decision could soon also affect plants in Malaysia, where a supplier was forced to cut deliveries because it was unable to find new components.

As has already happened for other car manufacturers, Mazda also sees itself forced to revise 2021 deliveries downwards. According to the figures released by the Japanese producer, compared to what was expected at the beginning of the year, during this fiscal year the global production will see a downsizing of 100,000 vehicles. A very marked contraction in production, therefore, which cannot fail to have negative effects on deliveries. One of the “side effects” of the microchip crisis, in fact, is the slowdown in deliveries of new cars, already ordered (and paid, in some cases) by customers, but not available because there are no components to make them.

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