Automakers removed 27,700 more vehicles from their production plans worldwide because of the microchip shortage last week, largely driven by cuts in Asia, according to the latest estimate by AutoForecast Solutions.
That figure represents a sharp reduction from last week, when AFS added more than 200,000 vehicles to its running tally of the number of vehicles lost because of the semiconductor shortage. About 2.26 million vehicles have been eliminated so far this year.
About 25,500 vehicles at plants in Asia outside of China were added to the year-to-date total over the last week, with about 2,200 lost in North America.
No further microchip-related cuts were reported in Europe, China, South America, the Middle East or Africa during the last week. Still, vehicles continue to be axed for other reasons, particularly in China, where COVID-19 restrictions have hampered the industry in recent weeks and months.
“Lowered output in China has been largely due to pandemic-related shutdowns,” Sam Fiorani, AutoForecast’s vice president of global vehicle forecasting, said in an email. “These production losses have hidden potential losses from semiconductor shortages in China, but continue to hamper output around the world where chips are sourced out of plants closed due to COVID-19.”