AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)09/12 Report--

According to foreign media reports, Akio Toyoda, president of the Japan Automobile Industry Association and president of Toyota Motor Co., said that the disruption caused by the COVID-19 epidemic to parts suppliers may force Japanese automakers to cut car production again in October.

Against the backdrop of a global shortage of semiconductors and difficulties in purchasing parts caused by the COVID-19 epidemic in Southeast Asia, global car production in September and October will be about 400000 fewer than originally planned, according to Toyota's website. Prior to this, on August 19 this year, Toyota announced that due to the insufficient supply of spare parts caused by the epidemic, global production in September will be reduced from 900000 to 540000 (about 140000 in Japan and 220000 overseas).

Toyota said it expected to produce 9.3 million units in the fiscal year ending March 2022, but expected production to reach 9 million as a result of the cut. However, Toyota also stressed that while the outlook since November is still uncertain, demand remains high, which is a prerequisite for taking into account production plans and maintaining past levels. In addition, taking into account exchange rates and other changes, Toyota's consolidated operating profit for fiscal 2021 (April 2021 to March 2022) is expected to remain unchanged at 2.5 trillion yen (146.4 billion yuan).

In fact, under the double pressure of COVID-19 epidemic and chip shortage, the global automobile industry is facing pressure. At the ongoing 2021 Munich Auto Show, the heads of a number of German auto companies unanimously predicted that the shortage of the global chip supply chain would continue for 6 to 18 months.

Daimler CEO Ola Kaellenius said on Sunday that the surge in demand for semiconductor chips means it may be difficult for the automotive industry to procure enough semiconductor chips from next year to 2023, but supply shortages should not be as severe by then. Oliver Zipse, chief executive of BMW, said today that supply chain tensions are expected to continue into 2022, at least for the next 6-12 months. Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said on Monday: "because of the strong demand for semiconductors, Volkswagen may still be in shortage in the coming months or even years. The Internet of things is developing, and it will take time to increase production capacity. This could be a bottleneck in the coming months and years. "

The impact of the shortage of semiconductor chips on the Chinese market should not be underestimated. Retail sales of narrow-sense passenger cars in China fell 14.8 per cent year-on-year to 1.451 million in August, down from 1.502 million in July, and the year-on-year decline widened to double digits, according to the Federation of passengers. In terms of annual sales, based on the impact of last year's epidemic, cumulative sales from January to August in 2021 can still achieve 17.1% year-on-year growth, but this growth figure is shrinking due to chip supply problems, and the possibility of annual sales leveling off with last year's is not ruled out. From the perspective of car sales, such as FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC-Volkswagen, SAIC-GM, Dongfeng Honda and other car companies have seen a sharp decline in sales, the impact of chips on car companies can be imagined.

Eason Huamai, a well-known global market analysis company, released a report saying that the global semiconductor shortage will reduce the world automobile industry's production by as much as 7.1 million vehicles this year, and the chip supply disruption caused by the COVID-19 epidemic will extend the difficulties faced by the automobile industry into next year. The global chip shortage will not ease until the second half of 2022.

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