TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Japanese vehicle manufacturer Honda has announced a “strategic collaboration” with TSMC to ensure a stable supply of semiconductors that the company says will address its ongoing procurement issues.

"Stable procurement of semiconductors is becoming increasingly important as the electrification and digitization of mobility products continue," Honda President Toshihiro Mibe said per Nikkei. The company said on Thursday (April 27) that by 2040 it will only produce electric vehicles (EV), and it plans to introduce more than 20 new EV models over the next five years, 10 of which will be motorcycles.

Honda announced in March that orders for certain models would be suspended for up to a year due to semiconductor shortages, the latest of many production cutbacks to occur over the last two years. In 2021, Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, and multiple tech firms all temporarily ceased production because of semiconductor shortages.

The global componentry shortage has been attributed to the pandemic causing unexpectedly high demand for electronics products, of which nearly all require semiconductors.