The number of vehicles trimmed from production plans worldwide due to the microchip shortage has surged 61 percent from a week earlier, according to a new estimate from AutoForecast Solutions.
AFS now projects that automakers will eliminate more than 1 million vehicles from factory schedules before the year is out. That is on top of the more than 10 million vehicles that were cut in 2021.
AFS, which has been monitoring the impact of the semiconductor shortage on production since early 2021, said about 370,500 units have been cut from factory schedules so far this year, up significantly from 230,700 cuts a week earlier.
Scarce microchips caused European plants to knock an additional 91,600 units off their production schedules. The new estimate indicates that cuts more than doubled in South America from a week earlier, while North American plants saw cuts jump by about 33 percent.
The microchip shortage remains a major issue for the industry, even as some automakers voice optimism that the crisis could ease in the second half of 2022.
