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It’s Not Just the Big Three: Chip Shortage Wreaking Havoc Elsewhere Too

American carmakers have been struggling with the lack of chips for several months already, and in some cases, the only way to deal with the whole thing was to just suspend the production even of the most popular models in their lineup.
GM's Flint assembly plant 6 photos
Photo: GM
GM's Flint assembly plantGM's Flint assembly plantGM's Flint assembly plantGM's Flint assembly plantGM's Flint assembly plant
But on the other hand, the Big Three aren’t the only companies that are trying to find a way to cope with the lack of semiconductors, as global automakers are also hit by the same problem quite severely.

Just earlier this week, Skoda announced a two-week production halt, while the debut of the Maserati Grecale was officially postponed to the spring of 2022 because of the same reason.

And now, new data provided by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association shows that even more carmakers are struggling with the disruption caused by the chip crisis.

The total production of cars in South Korea in the July – September quarter dropped to the lowest level in 13 years, recording a decline of close to 21 percent as compared to 2020. As a result, only 761,975 vehicles were manufactured during this quarter, with the local operations of companies like Hyundai, Kia, General Motors, and SsangYong massively impacted.

For example, Hyundai’s production went down no less than 15.8 percent to a little over 350,000 cars, while Kia suffered a drop of 6.5 percent to approximately 321,700 cars. GM’s has been significantly hit by the shortage of chips, as its production output collapsed from over 102,000 units a year before to just 46,000 cars in the same quarter in 2021.

The good news is the chip shortage is starting to ease off, with many carmakers returning to improved production capacity in the fourth quarter.

But this doesn’t necessarily mean the crisis is over, as most companies still expect the shortage to continue into 2022 until it eventually comes to an end by the end of the next year.
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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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