Subaru and Suzuki suspend production due to chip supply cut
According to foreign media reports, Japanese automaker Subaru said that due to chip supply shortages, its plant in Yajima will suspend production from April 10 to 27. The suspension will affect 10,000 vehicles. Impact on the production.
(Image source: Subaru)
On April 5th, Subaru said in a statement that it will restart all production lines at the Gunma Yajima plant from May 10. The company also said that the impact of the suspension of production on the group's financial performance is still uncertain. Subaru said that part of its operations will resume on April 21, adding that April 28 to May 9 is the factory's planned holiday break. A Subaru spokesperson said that the suspension was caused by a global shortage of semiconductors and had nothing to do with the previous fire that occurred in chip manufacturer Renesas Electronics.
In addition, Suzuki Motor also announced that two of its three factories in Japan will temporarily suspend production due to the same shortage of chip supply. Suzuki said on April 5 that its two factories in Shizuoka Prefecture will suspend production. This is the first time Suzuki has stopped production due to a shortage of chip supply. The Sagara plant and one of the three production lines in the Kosai plant were discontinued this time.
Suzuki told the media that the company has no plans to cut production for the time being, and that they will maintain the operation of the factory during the holidays to make up for the loss of production. In the fiscal year ending March 2020, Suzuki's passenger car production in Japan totaled 940,000, and two plants in Shizuoka Prefecture accounted for 80% of the company's total production.
In February of this year, due to an earthquake in northeastern Japan, which affected the production of some partners, Suzuki was forced to temporarily shut down some production lines in the Kosai factory that month for one day. Other Japanese automakers, including Toyota, Honda and Nissan, have also experienced production shutdowns due to a severe winter storm in North America that caused a shortage of parts.
