Global semiconductor chip shortage hits car sales

Japan’s top automaker Honda on Tuesday said it has cut its global auto sales outlook by 100,000 for the first three months of 2021 due to a global shortage of essential chips, local media reported.

Honda Motor Co. had set a target of 4.6 million sales until March this year.

The shortage of the chips is mainly attributed to boost in sales of smartphones, game consoles, smart TVs, and laptops triggered by global lockdown during the pandemic which forced people to stay home.

Also, restrictions imposed by former US President Donald Trump’s administration on China’s chipmakers have fueled the demand for semiconductor chips.

The global chip shortage has led many industrialized countries to reach out to Taiwan for chip supplies. The US, Germany, and Japan have recently urged Taipei to increase the chip production.

Taiwan is home to world’s largest contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), whose orders are fully booked until 2024.

The firm supplies chips to Apple Inc. smartphones, and are used for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.

The TSMC is also planning to open a new $12 billion plant in the US state of Arizona.

Almost all Japan’s top automakers -- Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Mazda -- have either decided to cut down production or are in the process of examining the impact of chip shortage.