A group of the US largest automakers on Monday asked the government for help, as it warned that a shortage of semiconductors in the world could lead to a decrease in the number of cars built this year by 1.28 million units and disruption of production for another six months, Reuters reported.

The US Commerce Department is to devote some of the funding to a proposed bill to expand semiconductor production in the US for the automotive sector, the Alliance for Auto Innovation said in written responses to a government-initiated review.

US President Joe Biden ordered some Federal agency actions to address the chip crisis and is also seeking $37 billion in funding for legislation to supercharge chip manufacturing in the United States.

Some funding should “be used to build new capacity that will support the auto industry and mitigate the risks to the automotive supply chain evidenced by the current chip shortage,” the group’s chief executive, John Bozzella, wrote.

This group includes almost all major automakers with factories in the United States, including General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Volkswagen AG, Toyota Motor Corp, and Hyundai Motor Co.

Automakers have been hit particularly hard by the global chip shortage following many canceled orders when car factories stood idle during the coronavirus pandemic.

When they were ready to resume production, they found that chip makers were busy filling orders for the consumer electronics industry.