One automaker in particular has really suffered as a result…
Even though you likely haven’t been hearing much about the car chip shortage lately, that doesn’t mean the ugly situation has entirely disappeared. Instead, evidence of the situation lingering is present in Ford’s not-so-great quarterly results which just came in. The Blue Oval has been the one to really take it on the kisser when it comes to a lack of chips, but other automakers seem to have found a workaround.
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Ford blamed the 100,000 unit vehicle deficit in manufacturing for Q4 of 2022 primarily on a lack of microprocessor chips. CFO John Lawler said investors should brace for “volatility surrounding chips in 2023.” In other words, Ford’s expecting production to still be low and in turn to suffer financial losses.
Volkswagen also seems to be struggling with the chip shortage, warning in January that production for 2023 probably won’t be great. However, the automaker believes it will gradually secure more chips for cars as the year progresses. It’s worth noting that for 2022 VW fell behind Toyota in global production yet again as the Japanese automaker produced over 2 million more vehicles. Still, Toyota has decreased its production projection in November all thanks to the chip shortage.
Then there’s GM, which seems to have smoothed out production a little better. CEO Mary Barra said in October of last year investors should expect some disruptions for the short term. However, agreements arranged with chipmakers have helped the automaker climb most of the way out of its production deficit as GM reported fantastic numbers for 2022 with 2.2 million-plus units sold in the US for a 2.5% increase.
Tesla was able to deploy a workaround it announced last October. Updating software allowed the company’s cars to us other chips or run using fewer chips overall, allowing production to resume to more normal levels. For 2022, the American automaker made 1.31 million cars, 40% more than in 2021.
A report from Auto Forecast Solutions claims a whopping 18 million cars weren’t made thanks to the chip shortage. That figure starts in 2021 and is projected through the end of 2023. Still, it shows just how big of an impact these supply chain issues have had on the market.
Images via Ford, VW
