A major earthquake in Japan threatens to exacerbate the ongoing global microchip shortage as the total number of vehicles removed from production plans this year surpassed 1 million.

The company says the persistent semiconductor shortage as well as uncertain geopolitical affairs have caused delays in logistics and parts delivery.

The number of vehicles cut from automakers’ production plans this year because of the chip shortage surged 42 percent from a previous estimate, according to AutoForecast Solutions.

The production upgrades at the Hofu H2 assembly plant in western Japan will underpin upcoming production of new vehicles.

The Japanese automaker will also offer permanent jobs to 1,400 employees currently working there through Kelly Services, as well as to all future employees.

EV production should account for about 40 to 50 percent of Honda's total output in North America in 2030, or around 800,000 battery-electric vehicles.

The factory is expected to begin production in 2025, and it will eventually supply electric vehicles and hybrids built in the region.

Toyota cut its July global production plan by 50,000 vehicles.

Another 75,300 vehicles were eliminated from schedules because of the semiconductor shortage, mostly at North American factories.

The tally of vehicle production cuts due to microchip shortages just rose by nearly half a million.

More than 100,000 vehicles were cut from North American production schedules because of the global microchip shortage last week, according to the latest AutoForecast Solutions report.

Last year, Mazda sped up its electrification plan, saying electric vehicles would account for a quarter of global sales in 2030, with the rest of the portfolio employing some other form of electrification. But executives are now saying that outlook needs an update.

For a house-proud engineering force such as Honda, relying on GM for EV help may be surprising. But Honda expects to return to its old independent prowess in due time.

Automakers are still shaving back production plans due to semiconductor shortages, but the worst-case scenario for North America just got a tiny bit better.

For 2022, the IHS Markit light-vehicle production forecast was cut by 9.3 percent, or about 8.4 million vehicles.

North American factories took another 26,000 vehicles out of their production schedules last week, significantly more than companies were cutting at the beginning of the month.

Mercedes has set the stage for the mass production of luxury electric vehicles in the U.S. And its massive Alabama plant will be key in taking the fight to EV kingpin Tesla.

Keeping the flow of new Toyotas and Lexuses coming to U.S. dealers amid dozens of simultaneous threats falls to two executives who manage it all the Toyota way.

The executive who runs Mazda's newest assembly plant says there is lots to learn from Mazda's gargantuan Japanese partner, Toyota.

Toyota and Lexus dealers, who have been getting by for months with some of the leanest inventories in history, will see that trickle of vehicles dry up further.

Suppliers representing 90 percent of the automaker's purchasing volume will supply CO2-neutral parts.

Toyota Motor North America's announced plans to build a battery plant may require the Japanese automaker to build another assembly plant in the U.S.

The automaker hasn’t made a final decision, but is expected to partner with Panasonic at the operation.

Automakers and battery companies are spending unprecedented sums of money as they build out North America's EV supply chain.

Toyota's announced a $1.29 billion battery plant in Liberty, N.C., will have capacity for 1.2 million battery packs per year, suggesting more local investment will follow.