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Jun 2021

GM Extends Downtime

GM has extended its downtime of the Fairfax Assembly Plant from July 5th out to August 16th (down since February 8th due to the global microchip shortage). Vehicles impacted include the Cadillac XT4 and Chevy Malibu.

Jun 2021

Nissan Recalls Nearly 140k Sentra Sedans

Nissan North America Inc. is recalling 138,736 Sentra sedans from the 2020-21 model years because the left, right or both tie rods may be bent. According to a defect notice filed with NHTSA, a bent tie rod could impair the driver’s ability to steer the vehicle. For one thing, the steering wheel could be off-center and experience vibration. For another, the tie rods possibly breaking could lead to a partial loss of steering control, raising crash risk.

Manheim Experiences Slowing Pace of Used-Vehicle Prices

The biggest U.S. auction house, Manheim, sells millions of vehicles every year claims that the wholesale market has already topped out and that the prices of individual secondhand cars will follow in the coming weeks. Soaring prices for secondhand vehicles have helped push U.S. inflation to the highest in more than a decade. “Wholesale prices as of right now are at their peak and should start to come down,” Zo Rahim, industry analyst at Cox Automotive, said. “We are seeing a decelerating pace of price increases in the first two weeks of June, compared to what has been just an absolute surge.”

Manheim’s wholesale index of used-vehicle value was 36% higher than a year earlier as of mid-June –- down from an annual rate above 50% in April. One effect of higher prices has been to push the average age of vehicles on U.S. roads up to a record 12.1 years in January.

Jun 2021

Mazda Idles Production in Japan in July

Mazda Motor Corp. said on Wednesday that it will suspend production at a factory in Japan for a total of ten days in July due to a chip shortage.

The automaker’s Hofu Plant No.1 in Yamaguchi prefecture, located in southwest Japan, will halt production between July 5th and 9th as well as July 12th and 16th.

Nissan Adjusts Production in July

Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. will adjust production at several factories next month due to the global chip shortage. “Due to the global chip shortage, Nissan is adjusting production and is taking necessary actions to ensure recovery,” a Nissan spokesperson said, without elaborating. Nissan, like other automakers, has been making production adjustments because of a worldwide microchip supply crunch. The automaker has said the shortage will likely affect the production of 500,000 vehicles this year.

CEO Makoto Uchida told shareholders at the annual general meeting earlier on Tuesday that the company was minimizing the negative impact of the chip shortage. He added that Nissan was trying to make up for the production loss within the financial year and to take action to ensure stability in its supply of parts.

Jun 2021

160,000+ Vehicles Taken Out of N.A. Factory Schedules

North American automakers have been experiencing less impact from the global chip shortage in recent weeks. But that situation took a turn last week when more than 160,000 vehicles were taken out of North American factory schedules, according to the latest industry report from AutoForecast Solutions.

In North America:
– General Motors – 42,600 vehicles
– Hyundai – 27,000
– Ford – 27,500
– Stellantis – 19,000
– Toyota – 12,600
– Honda – 10,600

Jun 2021

Ford Acquires EV Business, Electriphi

Ford Motor Co. on Thursday said it is acquiring Electriphi, a fleet charging service provider, to help strengthen its FordPro commercial business. Ted Cannis, CEO of FordPro, said the acquisition will allow Ford to offer commercial fleet operators an “end-to-end solution” from installing EV chargers, to managing energy usage and coordinating vehicle charging to avoid downtime. Ford believes it can increase revenue by more than $1 billion from fleet charging solutions by 2030, when it expects businesses to have more than 600,000 full-size trucks and vans that need charging at the workplace.

Ford last month said it would spin its commercial business into a separate unit called FordPro as it looks to nearly double the revenue it generates from commercial sales to $45 billion by 2025. The company is also focusing its electrification efforts there, preparing to launch the E-Transit van later this year and the F-150 Lightning Pro next year. “It’s an evolving world, but in terms of end-to-end solutions for E-Transit and F-150 Lightning, this is the final piece for us,” Cannis said. “This is it for us. We have everything we need to support our customers.”

Jun 2021

General Motors Recalling 285,622 Vehicles

General Motors is recalling 285,622 vehicles from the 2021 model year — 282,309 of them in the U.S. — because their airbag malfunction indicator lights might fail to warn drivers of issues with the airbags. The vehicles’ communications gateway module could incorrectly process a loss of communication with the sensing diagnostic module, which could cause airbag malfunction indicator lights to “inconsistently illuminate,” according to a document filed with NHTSA.

The recall covers a range of models: the Buick Envision; Cadillac CT4, CT5, Escalade and Escalade ESV; Chevrolet Corvette, Suburban and Tahoe; and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL.

Jun 2021

Ford Extends Ordering

Ford Motor Company has extended ordering for the 2021MY Edge and Escape from 6/25/21 to 7/30/21.

Jun 2021

Ford to Reveal New Small Pickup

Ford plans to reveal a new compact pickup truck called the Maverick, this week. Suppliers are projecting approximately 110,000 annual volumes and production is slated to begin in late July with availability later this year. The truck is expected to be engineered on the same platform as the Lincoln Corsair, Ford Escape, and Ford Bronco Sport. Ford has told dealers the truck will start less than $20k and serve as an entry-level replacement for their discontinued sedans.