Suzuki Motor Corp. has warned that the supply of semiconductors and batteries may be tight into the foreseeable future as automakers shift toward electric vehicles, and is planning to increase its stockpiles as a result.
"We will be using many batteries and various chips, more rapidly,” Osamu Honda, Suzuki’s representative director, said at a shareholder meeting on Friday. "We expect chips, batteries and others to always be in tight supply in that case.”
A global shortage of chips sparked by a range of factors including the coronavirus pandemic, a factory fire in Japan and frigid weather in the U.S. has limited production of everything from cars to game consoles and sent governments scrambling to bolster domestic supply.