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Ford Not Optimistic About the End of Chip Shortage, Tries a Different Strategy

South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai came up with a very optimistic forecast earlier this week, anticipating the end of the chip shortage no later than this year.
Ford says it will prioritize top models 11 photos
Photo: Ford
F-150 Lightning Pre-Production At Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterF-150 Lightning Pre-Production At Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterF-150 Lightning Pre-Production At Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterF-150 Lightning Pre-Production At Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterF-150 Lightning Pre-Production At Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterF-150 Lightning Pre-Production At Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterF-150 Lightning Pre-Production At Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterF-150 Lightning Pre-Production At Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterF-150 Lightning Pre-Production At Rouge Electric Vehicle CenterF-150 Lightning Pre-Production At Rouge Electric Vehicle Center
In other words, Hyundai believes the whole struggle with the lack of chips would be over in 2022, pretty much because the production would finally be aligned with the current demand in the automotive market.

Ford, on the other hand, doesn’t believe the nightmare is likely to end in 2022.

Company CEO Jim Farley has recently said in an interview that the chip shortage will continue until at least 2023, though guessing when exactly it would come to an end is pretty much impossible right now.

Farley, however, says the American carmaker is now trying a different approach. The production of the most profitable vehicles is prioritized, as the company wants to offset the production losses.

In theory, this is good news for those people going for the F-150, for instance, but on the other hand, customers of less popular Ford models might have to wait much longer to get the vehicles. And what’s more, they could eventually ship without certain systems, again due to the lack of chips.

Ford is one of the companies that have been hit hard by the semiconductor crisis. The carmaker has recently decided to suspend the production of the Mustang, as its chip inventory was running out, and halting the manufacturing temporarily was the only way to deal with the problem.

Ford describes the chip shortage as a “persistent problem,” and in theory, this means the company is struggling with the lack of semiconductors as we speak. And, of course, the constrained chip inventory is unlikely to be dealt with in the short term, which for Ford means that 2022 is going to be a very challenging year in terms of car production, regardless of the model.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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