DETROIT (Reuters) – The impact of the global semiconductor deficit on the car industry spread on Saturday, while Stellantis warned that its highly profitable trucks are hit, while Ford Motor Co said it will further reduce US production.
Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest automaker, said it will build and own Ram 1500 Classic trucks for final assembly at its assembly plants in Warren, Michigan and Saltillo, Mexico. When the chips become available, the vehicles will be completed and delivered to dealers.
The action will take “a few weeks,” a Stellantis spokeswoman said, refusing to reveal how many trucks were affected.
The lack of chips, which has affected carmakers globally, stems from a confluence of factors. Automakers shut down North American factories for two months during last year’s COVID-19 pandemic and canceled chip orders. Meanwhile, the demand for chips has grown in the consumer electronics industry as people have been working from home and playing video games. Now carmakers have to compete for chips.
Automakers have repeatedly said they will prioritize chips for their most profitable vehicles, but the impact on the Ram model, as well as previous reports by Ford and General Motors Co on lost or affected production of their large trucks, shows that the deficit affects companies where it hurts.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said earlier this month that the problems may not be fully resolved by the second half of 2021, as some car rivals have pointed out, describing supplies as the “unknown sea” of income in 2021.
Ford said Saturday it will remain at the Ohio assembly plant next week, while the Kentucky truck plant in Louisville will operate only two of the three shifts. Both factories will return to full production in the week of March 29.
The US automaker said the latest action is part of a previous forecast, which predicted that the shortfall could reach 2021 profits by $ 1 billion to $ 2.5 billion.
On Thursday, Ford said it would assemble its highly profitable F-150 and North American Edge SUVs without certain parts and then keep them “for a few weeks” until they could be completed and shipped. affecting “thousands” of vehicles. He also said it will remain in production at factories in Louisville, Kentucky and Cologne, Germany.
Ben Klayman’s report; Edited by Daniel Wallis