By The Canadian Press
Published November 8, 2022 at 1:54 pm
Canadians are facing lengthy wait times for new vehicles as supply chain issues and a computer chip shortage is hindering carmakers, like at Brampton’s Stellantis plant, from making enough vehicles to meet demand.
Stellantis Canada says an “unprecedented” global microchip shortage has had an impact on production at both the Brampton and Windsor assembly plants over the last two years.
The tiny semiconductor chips power everything from essential safety functions like airbags and breaks to bonus features like GPS or a touchscreen entertainment system.
The auto industry halted production early in the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting chip suppliers to sell to electronics manufacturers instead.
But when carmakers came back online, the chips they needed weren’t available. Chipmakers were busy producing more profitable, cutting-edge microchips for devices like computers, cellphones, televisions and even household appliances.
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The microchip and supply problems aren’t unique to Stellantis and are being felt industry-wide.
Honda Canada spokesperson John Bordignon said significant global issues are still “very much a part of the new vehicle availability and delivery process,” with delivery delayed due to the international impact of COVID-19, shipping and logistics, microchip shortages and other supply chain disruptions.
Toyota Canada spokesperson Michael Bouliane said the company has been affected by the global supply chain challenges slamming the entire automotive industry.
“Our teams are working diligently to minimize the impact on production but these delays, when combined with continued strong demand for our vehicles, has resulted in longer than usual wait times for the delivery of some models to our dealers and customers,” he said in an email.
The delays have trickled down to car shoppers, with some being told the specific model and trim they want will take years to arrive.
Many vehicles are sold before they even hit the lot, and the lack of inventory is affecting salespeople, many of whom rely on commissions to earn a living.
And manufacturing shutdowns are also affecting auto plant workers.
“We’ve had periods of layoffs or reduced hours for at least 10 weeks in all of these facilities between January and September of this year,” Unifor national president Lana Payne said in an interview.
“For these plants, that’s about a third of their working time that’s been lost this year,” she said. “It’s nearly all related to a shortage of parts — mostly microchips, but other parts as well.”
The situation has relegated automakers to the back seat of the microchip supply chain, resulting in long delays for the small parts.
In some cases, if the missing chip is part of a bonus feature, the vehicle can be assembled and sold as is and upgraded later. Other chips are needed to sell the car, but the entire vehicle can be built and the missing chip added later, just before it’s sold.
But in cases where the chip is embedded in a part of the vehicle that can’t be easily accessed or upgraded after assembly, a missing microchip can stop production.
Brampton’s Stellantis assembly plant is the only one producing Chargers, Challengers, and Chrysler 300s, all of which are models set to be phased out next year as Stellantis overhauls its Brampton and Windsor plants to multi-energy vehicle assembly facilities ready to produce electric vehicles.
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