AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)01/13 Report--

Affected by the supply of spare parts, many car companies at home and abroad are facing the current situation of reducing production or stopping production. A few days ago, there are also continuous media reports that Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan and other car companies have been forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Due to the global shortage of chips, the GAC-Toyota production line has also been suspended. The car company has responded to the matter.

On January 12, the Nikkei News quoted an unnamed person as saying that some production lines of Guangzhou Auto Toyota had been suspended since the 11th of this month due to a shortage of Toyota semiconductor chips. The shutdown is GAC Toyota's third production line, which will last for four days, which means Toyota will cut capacity by 30 per cent in January, depending on the duration of the shutdown, but the recovery time has yet to be determined.

In view of this report, other media understand. According to GAC Toyota reply: the production line has indeed been affected by the insufficient supply of some spare parts, but it has been restored and domestic production is still carried out in an orderly manner. Due to the purchase of semiconductor chips, production resumed on the evening of the 12th.

It is understood that the third production line involving the suspension of production by GAC Toyota is responsible for the production of models such as Camry and C-HR. In order to ensure that later production will no longer be affected by semiconductor chips, the company intends to continue to expand the procurement of semiconductor chips. According to industry insiders, FAW Toyota, another Toyota joint venture, is also revising its production plans in China.

A number of automakers have been in trouble since 2020 due to a shortage of semiconductor chips, including Daimler, Nissan, Honda, Ford and Fiat Chrysler last week.

In the face of the shortage of chips reported in early December, although many domestic car companies said that they would not be affected, BYD even said that it could provide external supply in addition to self-sufficiency. However, it was first reported that Volkswagen was affected by this. In early December, there were media reports that North and South Volkswagen had stopped production due to insufficient supply of chips, especially high-end semiconductor chips, so that the production of mid-and high-end models will be directly affected.

FAW-Volkswagen responsible person replied that there is indeed a problem with the supply of electronic components chips, but it is not as serious as some media said. At present, Volkswagen China is coordinating the resources of suppliers, which does not affect normal delivery. It is not difficult to guess that the impact of the shortage of semiconductor chips will affect the global automobile industry, including Chinese car companies.

GAC GROUP also said on January 8 that he had received early warning messages from several parts suppliers that the global economic situation had been affected by the spread of the new epidemic. This information also indicates that a number of car companies have been forced to stop production due to a shortage of chips.

Li Shaohua, deputy secretary general of the China Automobile Association and head of the Industry Development Department, said a few days ago that "the shortage of chip supply does exist, and the superimposed influence of multiple factors has led to a concentrated contradiction between supply and demand of chips during this period of time, but it is not as serious as rumors. The market does not need to panic excessively.

The HKIFA also gives advice to dealers that the short-term shortage risk of the supply chain such as chips is mainly due to the market recovery exceeding expectations, so it is necessary to strengthen market consumer confidence, make a good market demand forecast, and give the supply chain stability expectations.

It is worth mentioning that as the supply of chips in China continues to be tight, more and more semiconductor companies have joined the ranks of price increases, ranging from 10% to 30%, but will not necessarily be reflected in car prices in the end. Some industry executives said that affected by the shortage of chips, car companies may give priority to the production of high-profit cars, so some models may not be available in the future.

Data show that in December 2020, GAC Toyota sold about 72000 vehicles, an increase of 25% over the same period last year. GAC Toyota sold about 765000 vehicles, up 12% from the same period last year.

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