Japanese automakers see decline in car sales in China in August

Japanese automakers Honda Motor, Nissan Motor, and Toyota Motor saw a decline in car sales in China in August.

The ongoing chip shortage crisis has hit vehicle production in the country.

Honda sold 91,694 vehicles in the country last month, declining 38.3% from a year earlier due to coronavirus crisis and chip shortage.

Nissan said it sold 113,166 cars in China in August, dropping 10.6%, due to “external headwinds including on-going pandemic, material shortage and natural disasters” in the country.

Toyota sold 144,800 cars last month there, declining 11.9% from the same month in 2020.

The chip shortage, which has hit automakers worldwide, emerges from a confluence of factors as automakers, which closed plants for two months during the coronavirus pandemic last year, rival against the sprawling consumer electronics industry for chip supplies. A factory fire suffered by Japanese chipmaker Renesas this year is also cited as a reason behind the chip shortage.