Robert Besser
03 Dec 2021, 21:47 GMT+10
YOKOHAMA, Japan: The Covid Omicron variant of COVID-19 could add pressure to a chronic shortage of microchips used in car manufacturing, warned Makoto Uchida, head of Nissan Motors.
The shortage could also hinder production of other electronic products, such as washing machines and smartphones which rely on semiconductor chips.
It remains too early to know when normal deliveries of chips will resume, he added, telling the BBC, "I cannot give you a date. This new variant could add pressure to that, so how well we react is going to be crucial."
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused many factories to close, leading to a backlog in semiconductor chip production, which was then exacerbated by soaring demand, with people working from home requiring laptops and tablets.
"We have a semiconductor shortage as an industry, and how we recover from that is critical," Uchida added.
Besides Uchida's comments, Nissan has announced that its vehicle electrification strategy includes the proposed introduction of 23 electrified models by 2030, along with a goal of having electric vehicles account for 75 percent of its European sales by 2026.
Earlier this year, Nissan announced an investment of £1 billion in its Sunderland plant in the UK, to develop it as a hub for electric vehicle production.
However, its goals for China and the U.S. are far less ambitious, planning on 40 percent of its sales in China to be electric or hybrid by 2026, while it only expects to hit that same percentages in the U.S. by 2030.
However, at the recent COP26 climate summit in Scotland, Nissan, along with Toyota, Volkswagen and BMW, refused to join Ford and Volvo in pledging to phase out petroleum-fueled vehicles by 2040.
Nissan is also investing more in developing solid state batteries, which are expected to more efficient than lithium-ion batteries, the current industry standard.
Get a daily dose of Albuquerque Express news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Albuquerque Express.
More InformationSOLOMON ISLANDS: In a move that opponents said is aimed at controlling and censoring the media, the government of the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: In July, a Florida man was killed by exploding Takata airbag inflators, possibly becoming the 20th death in ...
Israel has launched an unprovoked war against the Palestinian resistance group Islamic Jihad. The Israeli army assassinated a high-ranking commander ...
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan categorically denied on Thursday that a U.S. drone strike in Kabul that killed al-Qaeda chief Ayman ...
EAST NUSA TENGGARA, Indonesia: Hundreds of Indonesian tourism workers went on strike this week to protest a sharp rise in ...
NASSAU, Bahamas: A team of explorers have announced that they have uncovered a treasure, including coins, gemstones and priceless jewels, ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia were mixed Tuesday while in the Pacific, markets rose. The scene mirrored events ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Bangladesh raised fuel prices by some 50 percent this week, which is aimed at reducing the country's subsidy ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday as investors fret about CPI data due to be ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Amazon announced this week that it had purchased robotic vacuum maker iRobot for approximately $1.7 ...
RICHMOND, Virginia: Dominion Energy Virginia has received state approval to build an enormous offshore wind farm off the coast of ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia were mixed on Monday, but gains and losses were modest.There is concern the ...