Incomplete-Car Inventory Should Be Eliminated
Ford, GM say they’ll ship unfinished vehicles by year’s end as supply issue eases.
Tens of thousands of unfinished GM and Ford cars would move to dealers after the installation of long-awaited parts.
IMAGE: Getty Images/AvigatorPhotographer
Ford and General Motors say they’ll eliminate a backlog of unfinished vehicles by the end of the year as the flow of microchip parts loosens somewhat, Automotive News reported.
The carmakers have been holding on to tens of thousands of vehicles missing some hard-to-get parts. Ford is further behind on that front than GM.
They plan to install the missing parts and ship the vehicles to dealers this fall.
The news buoyed GM’s financial results in the third quarter, when its profit rose 37% year-over-year to $3.3 billion.
Ford’s quarter went in the opposite direction. It lost $827 million as costs for parts and materials increased and it and partner Volkswagen Group announced plans to end self-driving technology business Argo AI. Ford will instead focus on driver-assistance technology.
Microchip supply constraints that resulted from the Covid pandemic have stymied carmakers around the world, leading to inventory shortages.
Originally posted on Auto Dealer Today
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