Renault Romania unit Dacia reportedly said it would again suspend production following the recent Ford announcement of a longer stoppage at its Craiova factory from the end of February.

Now, both of Romania's car plants will operate at a fraction of their capacity in March, romania-insider.com reported.

The cause is the same for both factories: the current shortage of microchips, which hit the global automobile industry after suppliers diverted available supply to consumer electronics makers while COVID-19 shut or slowed car plants worldwide.

The report said Dacia would suspend the production at its Mioveni factory on 5 and 8 March, halting both vehicle and mechanical/chassis output.

Earlier, Ford Romania announced it would suspend production for 10 days from 26 February.

Last year, the two carmakers endured production disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, romania-insider.com noted.

Dacia Romanian output dropped in 2020 to under 260,000 units from 350,000 in 2019.

Total Romanian car production fell to 438,000 units from 490,000 the previous year.