Chip Shortages Trickle Down into Car Sales Figures in Japan

The chip shortages that automakers worldwide are struggling with are now also affecting sales figures. In Japan, sales of cars, trucks and buses fell for the first time in four months.

According to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, February sales were down 2.2 percent year-on-year.

Due to the chip shortages, automakers such as Honda and Nissan have temporarily shut down production lines.

This has left the Japanese economy with an additional problem after earlier corona restrictions, such as shorter opening hours for bars and restaurants, which meant that consumers in the country spent less. Japan’s economy is also expected to contract this quarter.

Car sales in Japan were also hit by the earthquake off the coast of Fukushima last month. This caused Toyota, the largest automaker in the country, to temporarily experience disruptions at many of its factories.

The seaquake off the east coast, among other things, left millions of people without electricity.