Title: A Microchip Might Be Why the New Car You Want Is Hard to Locate
Headings: A Microchip Might Be Why the New Car You Want Is Hard to Locate
A Microchip Might Be Why the New Car You Want Is Hard to Locate
Pandemic Pressure
Ford, FCA, Toyota, Subaru, VW Having to Adjust
Kinks in the Supply Chain

Content: Now a microchip shortage is forcing automakers to adjust production schedules and, in some cases, pause production once again. Pandemic Pressure
Supplier Issues Hurting Restart of Car Production
U.S. Automakers to Extend Production Shutdown
With the consumer electronics industry claiming more and more chips to fulfill increased demand for electronics, automakers are lacking one small but crucial component to build their cars. " Semiconductors are becoming much more important across the entire value chain for a vehicle, and such is the case in more expensive vehicles with more technology, but in particular for electric vehicles," Gaurav Gupta, vice president analyst at consulting firm Gartner, told Car and Driver. The potential for a shortage of semiconductors—the technology from which a microchip is made—was first noticed in December, as warnings came from automotive suppliers Continental and Bosch. "Some of these modern vehicles have thousands of semiconductors . . . and some of these things are probably a nickel a piece, and some are probably $150,” said Chris Richard, a principal at Deloitte Consulting who works in the semiconductor segment. " Different cost points, but any one of them can stop your production. A five-cent part can stop your production, or the $150 part." Ford, FCA, Toyota, Subaru, VW Having to Adjust
All automakers are feeling the supply crunch, and currently, not all have had to adjust production schedules to properly allocate the supply of microchips. Nonetheless, plenty of others have, including in North America.