Mazda sees chip shortage affecting about 7,000 vehicles in Feb

Japanese automaker Mazda Motor Corp said on Thursday it expects a chip shortage to affect its vehicle production from this month.

Mazda will revise its production plans based on the current assumption the shortage will affect around 7,000 vehicles globally in February, chief executive Akira Marumoto said on a post-earnings call.

The semiconductor shortage, which in some cases has been exacerbated by the former U.S. administration’s actions against chip factories in China, is now causing global automakers to curtail production and shut assembly lines.

“The situation is extremely fluid at the moment, but we are heading towards improvement on a daily basis,” Mazda’s Marumoto said.

“We will minimise the impact of semiconductor shortage by our day to day consultations and adjustments with our suppliers,” he said, adding that the company’s full-year earnings forecast already reflects the impact of the shortage on sales and revenue.

Mazda raised its full-year operating forecast to zero from a previous forecast of a 40 billion yen loss, due to a steady progress of improvement in marketing expenses, carline mix and fixed cost reduction.

That prediction is higher than an average 28.95 billion yen loss forecast based on predictions from 16 analysts polled by Refinitiv.

As of last week, Mazda was considering cutting its global output by a total of 34,000 vehicles in February and March due to a chip shortage, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

But Marumoto said on Thursday that the automaker will “not make adjustments that would exceed 30,000 vehicles.”