The automotive industry is still recovering from Covid and the global chip shortage affecting production, and now Russia's invasion of Ukraine presents a "substantial risk" to sales.

Auto industry consultants J.D. Power and LMC Automotive in a joint statement cut their sale forecast of new vehicle sales by 400,000 to 85.8 million units because of the invasion. They also said due to rising oil and aluminum prices could discourage buyers from spending on new cars and utes, according to Europe Automotive News.

The supply and prices of vehicles across the globe will be under added pressure based on the severity and duration of the conflict in Ukraine, said Jeff Schuster, president of Americas operations and global vehicle forecasts, at LMC Automotive.

The auto industry is still grappling with a global chip shortage that has forced them to cut back production, although high car prices have offset that impact to an extent, said Europe Automotive News.

"Ongoing supply chain disruptions, along with near-term announcements of production outages by several manufacturers, mean that the aggregate inventory situation is unlikely to change in March," said Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power.

However, on the upside, the volume of global light-vehicle sales is expected to rise 5 percent in 2022, according to the report.