With chipmaker Renesas Electronics not expected to achieve a full recovery from its recent factory fire until mid-July, Japan's largest automakers have begun bracing for long-term disruptions and potential production cuts.

Apple approached Japan's Nissan in recent months about a tie-up for its secretive autonomous car project, but talks are no longer active, according to people briefed on the matter. Apple also recently halted talks with South Korea's Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia, underscoring the challenges of finding an automotive partner for its car efforts, known as Project Titan.

Ford Motor, Toyota Motor, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Nissan Motor said on Friday they would cut vehicle production this month due to a shortage of semiconductors, becoming the latest automakers hit by a chip crunch as demand rebounds from the coronavirus crisis.

Renault and Nissan have shelved plans to push towards the full merger former leader Carlos Ghosn craved and will instead fix their troubled alliance to try to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, five senior sources told Reuters.

The Nissan Motor, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors alliance has agreed to form a new company focused on research and development of advanced automotive technologies, Kyodo News said.

Nissan Motor CEO Hiroto Saikawa is stepping down after an internal investigation revealed falsified documents that boosted his compensation in 2013.

Nissan Motor plans to expand job cuts to over 10,000 to help turn around its business, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday, showing the tough road ahead for an automaker grappling with management upheaval.

Google Maps, Google Play and more coming to connected cars.

There's nothing surprising about Japan going out of its way to bail out Renesas Electronics. The obvious objective is to maintain a steady flow of Renesas chips into domestic products, especially Toyota and Nissan automobiles.

The same market forces that doomed Solyndra, the solar cell manufacturer that received $528 million in government loans and then went bankrupt, could imperil other manufacturing ventures that have received loan guarantees from the Energy Department, energy experts warned this week.

Automobile demand in Japan and elsewhere has outpaced chip supplies from STMicroelectronics, a Hitachi spokesman said, adding that Nissan had not asked Hitachi for compensation for the disruption.

Hitachi's delay in supplying electronic controls to Nissan was caused by STMicroelectronics' failure to meet a microchip order.

Engine control units made by Hitachi couldn't be delivered on time to Nissan because ICs needed to make them were not available from a supplier, Hitachi said.

Carmakers will be scrambling to meet demand for electric cars - and the lithium batteries that power them - within the next two years, Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Renault and Nissan, has predicted.