Toronto, Ontario — In this weekly Tuesday Ticker report: a status report on the semiconductor shortage and a glimpse into Magna’s latest investment.
Chocolate, no chips
Certain automakers are recovering better than others in regard to the chip shortage, according to new data from Bank of America Global Research analysts and S&P global stats.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan are in the clear so far, according to the report and S&P data, but other automakers are not as lucky.
While Honda says the semiconductor shortage is nearly behind us, the automaker still cut its global sales expectations for 2023.
Volkswagen is expected to slice around 65,000 units from its Q1 production estimates; Toyota is allegedly cutting 58,000 units.
In his monthly forecast, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, Sam Fiorani, said “improvements are on the way.”
“The good news is not spread equally around the industry.”
The Bank of America report concluded that the industry overall is around 10 percent short in supplies of semiconductors. This time last year, that number was around 20 percent.
Battery bucks
Magna International has committed $470 million to open a new battery enclosures plant in Brampton, Ont.
The battery enclosures plant will cover 45,000 sq. m. (500,000 sq. ft.) and build lightweight aluminum battery enclosures for the Ford F-150 Lightning, and future electric models planned for the Ford Oakville, Ont. plant.
Magna also has contracts for the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Hummer EV battery enclosures, but those models will be built at Magna’s Michigan facility.
