The company projects it will sell 3,000 vehicles in the year to December, down from 3,748 units it recorded last year, citing an inability to meet demand.
The shortage of semiconductors –used in electronic devices— has hurt the production of global automakers.
CFAO Motors is the first Kenyan dealer to give estimates of the impact of the chip shortage on its sales.
Toyota dealer CFAO Motors Kenya has cut its annual sales target by 20 percent or 748 units this year due to a semiconductor chip shortage that will see it reduce vehicle production.
The company projects it will sell 3,000 vehicles in the year to December, down from 3,748 units it recorded last year, citing an inability to meet demand.
“It is coming down because currently, we have a few challenges all over such as getting the chips,” Arvinder Reel, the firm’s managing director, said of the anticipated sales decline.
“At this point in time, we cannot meet our demand. We have more demand than supply and we hope that we can catch up with production in the next few months.”
The shortage of semiconductors –used in electronic devices— has hurt the production of global automakers. Semiconductors are used to control electrical current, making them essential in battery management and in-car entertainment, among other systems. They are found in devices such as sensors and microcomputers.
CFAO Motors is the first Kenyan dealer to give estimates of the impact of the chip shortage on its sales.
DT Dobie had also said it was bracing itself for supply disruption of some of its vehicle models.
The crisis is hurting the supply of fully-built vehicles imported from other markets including South Africa, Japan, and Europe besides slowing down production at local assembly plants.
Toyota, Volkswagen, and General Motors are among the global automakers that cut their production due to the shortage of semiconductors.
The semiconductor crisis has been caused by various factors including a faster-than-expected recovery in demand for vehicles and competition from other industries such as telecommunications.
