Ford will deliver new Explorer SUVs in the US minus the semiconductor chips needed to operate the rear climate control system, a spokesman told TheDetroitBureau.com.
The report said the ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips had cost Ford production of hundreds of thousands and vehicles, leaving dealers with near empty showrroms and customers waiting, at times for months, to take delivery of new vehicles.
The chips needed to operate rear seat control systems were in short supply, spokesman Said Deep told TheDetroitBureau.com, so, rather than waiting for fresh supplies, it would disable that functionality “to get Explorers out to customers faster.”
Deep said rear climate control could still be operated from controls in front while the missing chip could be retrofitted later. “When the part comes in we’ll install it at no cost to you,” he added.
The report said Ford planned to offer customers affected by the plan a credit on their purchase price, even if they have missing chip installed later.
Affected models were already in production and would begin to ship to US dealers in the coming week, the spokesman said.
TheDetroitBureau.com said this was the second time Ford had adjusted production to cope with the semiconductor shortage by deleting vehicle features. Late last year it offered F-150 customers the ability to speed up delivery if they agreed to delete the stop/start function. In that case, however, Ford did not offer to later install the feature but buyers who accepted the plan received a US$50 credit.
The report added General Motors had briefly eliminated the heated seat function on some vehicles to get around the chip shortage, while some Cadillac Escalade SUVs were shipped without the hands-free Super Cruise function. Nissan deleted the navigation function on some models while BMW also trimmed the functionality of some of its infotainment systems, in some cases disabling the AutoPark feature.
Industry data showed retailers had barely a million new vehicles in stock in the US, less than a third of what is normal this time of year. TheDetroitBureau.com added.