The global semiconductor shortage has affected production at numerous automakers and across a wide swath of cars. And more and more automakers are breaking.
The latest vehicle to be affected is the Ram 1500 Classic, which starts at $28,700 and is the second-cheapest Ram you can buy, just above the Ram ProMaster City. This is not, in other words, a big car for Ram or Fiat Chrysler, now Stellantis, but this is the kind of car you might pause production on to save chips for other kinds of cars that are bigger profit-makers for Ram, like the fifth-generation 1500. (Remember, the 1500 Classic is the fourth-generation 1500 that Ram decided to continue making even after the fifth-generation came along.)
From The Detroit Free Press:
“We continue working closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry. Due to the unprecedented global microchip shortage, we are currently building and holding Ram 1500 Classics built at Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michigan and Saltillo Truck Assembly Plant in Mexico,” according to a statement provided by company spokeswoman Kaileen Connelly.
It’s not clear how many trucks are being held.
[...]
“When the component that requires the chip becomes available, we will complete the build, then perform extensive quality verifications before shipping finished trucks to dealers,” according to the company statement.
Fiat Chrysler does not split up its pickup sales in its sales reports, though in total the company said it had sold 563,676 Ram pickups last year. That is also where the big money is; any further production disruptions into Ram pickups and you’ll know things are getting pretty dire. Though I’m also sure that the automakers will try to move heaven and earth to avoid more repercussions in the meantime, as one estimate earlier this month put automakers’ chip shortage-related losses at over $60 billion in revenue.