The semiconductor shortage continues to drastically limit the production of automakers. North American factories went from 4,000 units lost at the start of October to 84,000 the following week before falling back to 26,000 units last week, according to estimates by AutoForecast Solutions.
General Motors and Ford are particularly affected, but the former still has encouraging news to announce.
GM’s North American branch director Steve Carlisle said at the agency’s recent auto summit Reuters that just over half of the incomplete pickup trucks crammed into parking lots have now been shipped to dealerships.
Without specifying how many remain, Carlisle added that all pending 2021 models should be released by the end of the year, if all goes well. There should then be a bit of a build-up of 2022 models at the start of the year, but not for long.
Photo: General Motors
In order to speed up deliveries, GM bought several carriers but also allowed dealers located near factories to come and collect their inventory themselves.
It should be remembered, however, that compromises had to be made also for vehicles manufactured due to the lack of semiconductors. Some vans, for example, cannot rely on the variable displacement system – sometimes called Active Fuel Management, sometimes Dynamic Fuel Management – which slightly increases fuel consumption.
In the case of the luxurious Cadillac Escalade SUV, the Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving system will not be available on the 2022 model, at least not the first ones.