THE NEWS IN January that Honda's Swindon plant had been forced to pause production for a third time, due to a shortage of semiconductor chips, is an ominous sign of the global supply chain disruption that could hit the sector in 2021. How will the major OEMs deal with the bottleneck? Honda is by no means the only car maker to be affected by the current shortage. Audi, part of the VW Group, has been forced to slow production at its plants in Germany, and in fact VW Group has confirmed plans to make fewer cars across its production facilities. Japanese makers, including Toyota and Nissan, have also been affected. The problem lies in a global shortage of semiconductors. In car production, they are used in everything from high-performance satnav systems to advanced driver assistance and infotainment systems, helping to ensure safety and provide an enhanced motoring experience. Growing use of onboard sensors and telemetry means that demand for semiconductors is likely to continue to increase. A primary reason for the shortage is a rapid increase in global demand. The latest data from the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics reveals that the market grew by 5.1 per cent in 2020, reaching a value of $433bn, and further growth of 8.4 per cent is forecast in 2021. In particular, the pandemic has led to a spike in demand for all forms of consumer tech, including tablets and smartphones. By contrast, automotive demand fluctuated over the past year, and when car sales began to recover more quickly than expected, it became apparent that semiconductor manufacturers were experiencing capacity and production constraints. They responded to the uptick in demand by adding capacity where possible and moving to round-theclock shift patterns, but this hasn't been sufficient to meet global automotive needs.