AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)09/23 Report--

Recently, at the autumn media communication meeting sponsored by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, a number of industry experts warned of the shortage crisis of automotive chips. The imbalance between supply and demand of automotive chips has not improved, and coupled with the impact of unexpected events such as the epidemic, it is difficult to predict the future trend, it said. The current situation is that cars will produce as many chips as they are produced, and car production and sales will continue to be affected by the supply of chips in the coming months.

According to data from the China Automobile Association, China's automobile production and sales in August were 1.725 million and 1.799 million respectively, down 7.4% and 3.5% from the previous month, and 18.7% and 17.8% from the same period last year. By the end of August, China's automobile production and sales have declined for four consecutive months. Chen Shihua, deputy secretary general of the China Automobile Association, said in this regard that the further expansion of the decline in automobile production and sales in August was mainly affected by the domestic epidemic and the epidemic in Malaysia, resulting in further increased pressure on production reduction; in addition, the fluctuation in production and sales is also related to the high base figure in the same period last year.

In recent years, due to the shortage of chips, car manufacturers have cut production massively, and many car companies have announced that they have stopped or cut production because of the cut-off of chips. On September 20, according to media reports, Toyota Motor Company of Japan will stop operation of a total of 27 production lines at 14 factories in Japan in October due to a shortage of spare parts caused by the epidemic in Southeast Asia. According to Toyota's latest announcement, the second production line at the Takaoka plant, which produces RAV4 and Harrier, will be suspended for five days; the third production line at the Taiyuan plant, which produces Lexus LS, IS, RC, RC F and NX models, will be suspended for eight days; the first production line at Miyada plant, which produces Lexus NX and RX, will be suspended for 7 days; and most seriously, the Yoshihara plant, which mainly produces Land Cruiser and Lexus LX, will stop production for 11 days. GM also announced recently that it would suspend operations at most North American plants and make further adjustments in line with the progress of the supply chain. Honda also posted on its website that shipments of spare parts were delayed by a shortage of semiconductor chips and the overseas novel coronavirus epidemic. Honda's domestic plants were affected by factors such as shutdowns and reduced daily production, and capacity utilization would remain at about 70 per cent in October. In addition, due to the shortage of chips, it is difficult for terminal dealers to pick up cars, and the demand for used cars increases. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi brands have all announced to buy back vehicles at the opening price.

According to the survey data of inventory early warning index of Chinese automobile dealers released by the China Automobile Circulation Association, the inventory early warning index of automobile dealers in August was 51.7%, down 1.1% from the same period last year and 0.6% from the previous month. Inventory early warning index is close to the line of rise and fall. As can be seen from the data, the import-luxury brand index, the mainstream joint venture brand index and the independent brand inventory index all showed a downward trend in August. It is not difficult to see that the shortage of chips has a great impact on import-luxury brands, and its corresponding inventory index has fallen below the rise and fall line. In the context of the global collective lack of core, luxury brands have appeared "one car is difficult to get" situation. Li Shaohua, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Association, said: now that the resources of automobile chips in circulation are nearly exhausted, the next step is that the advantage of Chinese automobile brands in chip resources is no longer obvious, and relevant enterprises need to make preparations in advance.

Some people in the industry said that the shortage of car chips is related to the problem of car supply, and if properly handled, car companies will also face the dilemma of getting stuck. At present, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has also made it clear that in order to promote the development of automotive chips, the next step is to continue to deepen opening and cooperation, especially to strengthen open cooperation with foreign countries in technological innovation, international trade, standards and regulations, so that the supply chain of the chip industry can further develop steadily in accordance with the requirements of double cycles, and promote the development of the automotive industry with high quality through the establishment of a long-term mechanism.

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