Nissan Motor plans to cut production at several plants in Japan next month due to the months-long global semiconductor shortage, according to local reports citing sources with “direct knowledge of the plan”.
The reports suggest Nissan’s yet-to-be-announced plans include suspending production at its Kyushu plant for eight days from 10 May.
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The plant, which makes the Serena MPV, X-Trail and Rogue, will try to make up for the lost production once the chip shortage is resolved.
Nissan also plans to cut the night shift for 15 days from 10 May at its Oppama plant which makes the Leaf, Sylphy and Note passenger cars, and Nissan Shatai plant which makes the Patrol and QX80 SUVs, the Elgrand MPV and Caravan minibus.
Worst hit will be the Tochigi plant which makes high-end Nissan and Infiniti passenger cars such as the Cima, Fuga, QX50 and QX70, and will shut for 10 days next month.
Many Japanese vehicle assembly plants were already scheduled to be shut down for more than a week in late April for the Golden Week holidays.
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By GlobalDataNissan also plans to furlough 800 workers at its Sunderland plant in the UK due to falling output due to the chip shortage, according to separate reports. However, a Nissan spokesperson told Verdict that it didn’t recognise the 800 figure.
A Nissan spokesman said: “A global shortage of semiconductors has affected parts procurement in the auto sector. Due to the shortage, Nissan is adjusting production and taking necessary actions to ensure recovery. We continue to work closely with our supplier partners to assess the impact on our supply chain and production, and minimize inconvenience for our customers.”
Hyundai announced it was cutting output at its Asan plant in South Korea, which makes the Grandeur and Sonata sedans, for a further two days this week following similar cuts last week.
The shortage of semiconductors began last year when global electronic component manufacturers allocated more production to consumer electronics and IT customers when automotive production plunged due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since then, other problems have affected global chip output, including the winter storms in Texas and a fire at Renesas Electronics’ plant in Japan.
An industry consensus is building that the chip supply issue will not be resolved until 2023.
Last week the world’s largest chip manufacturer, TSMC, said it expected the shortage to continue into 2022.
This story was originally published on Just Auto, part of the GlobalData network.
