Semiconductor supply eases amid rising automotive production: ACEA

Supply of semiconductors could begin to ease in the final quarter of 2022 allowing production volumes to slowly recover, says the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). This comes after the EU raised passenger car output 5.8% on-year in January-September to 7.97 million vehicles despite continued constrained semiconductor supply.

This was still however well below pre-Covid output of 10.74m units in January-September 2019, Kallanish notes.

Russian and Ukrainian output plummeted 66% and 85% respectively in the nine months through September 2022.

US nine-month output was up 12% to 5.29m units, driven by robust demand for new vehicles. Chinese output rose 15% to 16.36m vehicles thanks to incentives designed to stimulate private auto consumption. Japanese output fell 2% 4.83m units as the impact of the Covid Omicron variant significantly disrupted manufacturing activities, further aggravating ongoing semiconductor shortages, ACEA says.

Globally, nine-month passenger car output grew 9% to 49.8m units.

New passenger car registrations however dropped 3%, despite an 8% growth in China, with EU and US numbers down 10% and 14% respectively.

As for commercial vehicle output, this is expected to rise 10.5% on-year in full-year 2022 to 4.6m units in North America. However, in China and the EU it will be down by 29% and 1.2% respectively to 3.9m units and 3.1m units.

Adam Smith Poland