The Omicron variant could add pressure to a chronic shortage of microchips used in car manufacturing, auto giant Nissan’s boss warned.

Makoto Uchida said it is too early to say when normal deliveries will resume, and therefore finished cars.

“I can’t give you a date. This new variant could add pressure, so how we react will be crucial,” he told the BBC.

The products of cars, washing machines and smartphones are based on computer chips.

Some factories had to close when the pandemic first hit in 2020, leading to a backlog in the production of microchips, also known as semiconductors.

The impact has been exacerbated by increased demand, with people working from home needing laptops, tablets and webcams to help them get their jobs done.

“We have a shortage of semiconductors as an industry and how we recover is critical,” Uchida told the BBC.

Japan has banned flights arriving from abroad in response to the international alarm over the omicron variant detected for the first time in South Africa.

Uchida’s comments come as Nissan announced its vehicle electrification strategy, which includes the proposed introduction of 23 electrified models by 2030 and the ambition that by 2026, 75% of the companies’ European sales will be made up of. electric vehicles.

Earlier this year, Nissan announced a £ 1 billion investment to transform its Sunderland plant in the UK into an electric vehicle manufacturing hub.

His goals for China and the United States are far less ambitious. Nissan hopes 40% of cars sold in China will be electric or hybrid by 2026, while it expects to reach the same proportion in the US by 2030, given lower consumer adoption.

The company has not set a target date for the phasing out of combustion engines. At the recent COP26 climate summit, Nissan, along with Toyota, VW and BMW, refused to join Ford and Volvo in signing a pledge to phase them out by 2040.

Nissan is also investing more money in developing solid-state batteries, which the industry hopes will eventually prove more efficient than current industry-standard lithium-ion batteries.

Uchida said Nissan remained committed to its alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi, born from an idea of ​​former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn who now lives in exile in Beirut after being smuggled out of Japan pending criminal proceedings with the charge of financial crime. Mr. Ghosn strenuously denies the allegations.