Photo: GM
Like everybody else in the automotive industry, General Motors has been struggling to find the most effective way to deal with the global lack of chips.
But again, pretty much like all its competitors, GM’s only options have been temporary production halts and the manufacturing of certain vehicles without a series of systems typically requiring chips the company would otherwise use for more critical functions.
This is the case of heated seats, a super-popular option that General Motors has recently decided to give up on due to the chip crisis.
The company was supposed to remove the heated seats from select Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC models, simply because it wanted to prioritize the use of chips for other systems.
But as it turns out, General Motors, too, knows how critical this function actually is on its vehicles. And the company is aware that selling its models without heated seats could end up becoming a deal-breaker.
So the carmaker has somehow found a way to secure the chips it needs for the heated seats, with a recent report indicating the company has already reached out to dealers to communicate a retrofitting plan that would take place next year.
More specifically, GM will still sell a number of vehicles without heated seats, though this time, the features will be installed at a later time by dealers. It will all happen in the first half of 2022, when General Motors can presumably secure the necessary chip inventory for the whole thing.
In other words, customers who purchase a vehicle without heated seats, even though this feature was supposed to be there, will just have to pay a visit to the dealership to have it installed at some point in 2022. The whole thing will obviously be free, though it’s not clear how much it’d take for a dealer to complete this operation.
This is the case of heated seats, a super-popular option that General Motors has recently decided to give up on due to the chip crisis.
The company was supposed to remove the heated seats from select Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC models, simply because it wanted to prioritize the use of chips for other systems.
But as it turns out, General Motors, too, knows how critical this function actually is on its vehicles. And the company is aware that selling its models without heated seats could end up becoming a deal-breaker.
So the carmaker has somehow found a way to secure the chips it needs for the heated seats, with a recent report indicating the company has already reached out to dealers to communicate a retrofitting plan that would take place next year.
More specifically, GM will still sell a number of vehicles without heated seats, though this time, the features will be installed at a later time by dealers. It will all happen in the first half of 2022, when General Motors can presumably secure the necessary chip inventory for the whole thing.
In other words, customers who purchase a vehicle without heated seats, even though this feature was supposed to be there, will just have to pay a visit to the dealership to have it installed at some point in 2022. The whole thing will obviously be free, though it’s not clear how much it’d take for a dealer to complete this operation.
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