Mitsubishi Motors slashes output due to chip shortage 

Mitsubishi Motors will slash output by 16,000 units worldwide in May, the Japanese automaker said Friday after a factory fire at key supplier Renesas Electronics squeezed the already tight global supply of automotive semiconductors, Report informs, citing Nikkei Asia.

Mitsubishi will eliminate 11 shifts next month, mainly night hours, at its Mizushima plant in Japan, which produces KEI minicars and the RVR sport utility vehicle. The company will reduce the output of the new Outlander SUV and other models at its Okazaki plant as well.

The automaker also will cut production in Thailand, its main overseas production hub. No full-day closures are planned.

Mitsubishi produced nearly 1.34 million vehicles in fiscal 2019. The upcoming cuts amount to roughly 14% of its average monthly output.

The automaker previously said it would cut production by 4,000 vehicles in Japan during March, then by 7,500 across Japan and Thailand in April. In all, Mitsubishi Motors has taken a dent of 27,500 units due to the ongoing global chip shortage, which the company aims to make up for by the end of the fiscal year.

The Renesas fire, which occurred March 19 at the chipmaker's Naka plant, exacerbated the shortage of semiconductors that the auto industry has endured for months.

Nissan Motor said it would reduce the days of operation at some facilities in May. Subaru has cut output by roughly 25,000 units worldwide and furloughed part of its U.S. workforce, while Suzuki Motor decided to scale back Japanese production in April. Automakers could make further adjustments as the fire's impact ripples throughout the industry.