Chip Shortage Encourages Nissan to Idle U.S. Facilities Again

Rumor has it that the semiconductor shortage is going to be leaving Nissan facilities operating in North America to contend with a difficult summer. This issue appears to have been largely unavoidable but it’s hardly the position a manufacturer hoping to launch a comeback tour wanted to find itself occupying.

But, before we make this look like some failing on the part of Nissan, let’s take a look down memory lane to see some of the other companies that were negatively impacted by the chip shortage this year.

By May, over 10,000 General Motors employees had to endure additional time off at facilities across the Americas — impacting targeted volumes on a wide range of models (including those from Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac). Ford was required to suspend production of its best-selling F-Series, building many without all the necessary hardware. It also had to tamp town production on some of its better models (e.g. Mustang, Transit, Explorer) with the Lincoln brand also enduring a production slump. Meanwhile, Stellantis was experiencing hardships with the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango.

Volkswagen Group had to commit to extended periods of downtime for facilities in Europe producing the VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne. The Audi Q7 and Q8 were similarly affected. During the same period, Mercedes-Benz announced it would be slowing assembly routines on the GLC crossover and the all-electric EQC. BMW Group was facing similar problems with its smaller crossover vehicles and the Mini Cooper, while Jaguar struggled with

Subaru was having issues at its plant in Lafayette, Indiana, resulting in production stops for the Ascent, Impreza, Legacy, and Outback. Hyundai Motor Group also found itself running into trouble after looking like it had its supply chains in order. While other Asian automakers have confessed to being hampered by the chip shortage as well, none of them seemed to have been suffering quite as badly — save for Nissan.

After indicating (in March) that it would need to scale back on assembly of the Leaf, Maxima, Murano, and Rogue at its facility in Smyrna, Tennessee, Nissan stated it would also need to start cutting back in Kyushu, Japan. The Altima also saw the brakes temporarily placed on production. But, like many of the automakers above, the issue has yet to resolve itself.

According to Automotive News, Nissan plans to idle its Smyrna factory another four weeks after the two-week shutdown scheduled at the end of June. An additional couple of weeks off will similarly be given to the Altima sedan built in Canton, Mississippi.

From AN:

The chip shortage is complicating a product overhaul central to Nissan’s efforts to revive consumer interest and profitability in the U.S.

The Japanese automaker’s U.S. plants are preparing to introduce three key redesigned models: the Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 crossovers and the Nissan Frontier midsize pickup.

Nissan is prioritizing new launches and high-volume models such as the Sentra, Rogue and Kicks for the limited supply of microchips. In May, Automotive News reported Infiniti would halt QX50 assembly for June to conserve chips for QX60 production, which begins in summer.

Michael Colleran, Nissan brand’s U.S. sales and marketing boss, referred to parts allocation as akin to solving a Rubik’s Cube.

At the start of June, AutoForecast Solutions estimated that 25 individual models had been impacted by the chip shortage to an extent that the manufacture had to cull their production targets by at least 10,000 units. Ford’s F-150 was likely to have been hit the hardest with a minimum of 100,000 vehicles impacted, though it should be said that U.S. domestic brands are faring the worst as a group. All told, the shortage is estimated to put a $100-billion dent (minimum) into industry revenue for 2021.

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