This Omicron variant could increase pressure on the ever-present shortage of microchips that are used in the production of cars the head of auto giant Nissan has cautioned.

Makoto Uchida stated that it was too early to determine the date when deliveries of normal and, therefore, finished vehicles will resume.

“I can’t give you a date. This new variant could add pressure to that, so how well we react is going to be crucial,” he said.

The products of cars as well as washing machines, smartphones and even cars depend on computers.

Certain factories were forced to shut after the first outbreak of the disease in 2020, which led to an oversupply of microchips, which are also referred to as semiconductors.

The effects were exacerbated due to the increasing demand, workers working from home in need of laptops, tablets , and webcams to perform their work.

“We have a semiconductor shortage as an industry and how we recover from that is critical,” Uchida said in a television interview.

Japan has banned flights from outside Japan as a response to the global concern over the omicron variant that was first discovered by South Africa.

Uchida’s remarks come just as Nissan revealed its plan to electrify vehicles which includes the implementation of 23 electric vehicles by 2030. The strategy also sets the aim that in 2026 75% of the firms European sale will come from electric.

In the spring of this calendar year Nissan made public a PS1bn investment that will transform the Sunderland facility in the UK into an electric vehicle hub production.

Uchida stated that Nissan was determined to maintain its alliance to Renault and Mitsubishi

The targets it has set in China in the US are less ambitious. Nissan is hoping to see 40% of vehicles they sell to customers in China will be hybrid or electric in 2026. However, it is only aiming to reach the same percentage in the US in 2030, given the slow consumer adoption.

The company has not yet establish a date to eliminate combustion engines. In last year’s COP26 climate summit Nissan together with Toyota, VW and BMW were unable to take part with Ford as well as Volvo in announcing a commitment to eliminate them before 2040.

Nissan is also investing more in developing solid state batteries that the company hopes will eventually prove more efficient than lithium-ion batteries that are used in the industry.

Uchida stated that Nissan remains dedicated to its partnership that it has with Renault and Mitsubishi that was the idea of the former Nissan director Carlos Ghosn who is now living in exile in Beirut after being taken out of Japan in the midst of criminal prosecutorial charges for financial crimes. Mr Ghosn has repeatedly denied any charges.

(Adapted from DailyTimesng.com)