Ford To Ship Vehicles to Dealers Without Chips

Ford is taking an unusual approach to fighting the ongoing semiconductor shortage afflicting global automakers — doing without them, for the time being.  At J.C. Lewis Ford, we hope to explain how this affects your shopping experience.  

Headlines have surrounded this announcement and chip shortage coverage for over a year.  Rightly so, the semiconductor shortage has affected most sectors of our economy.  To understand what semiconductors are and why this affected us, Bernard Marr recently explained, “Semiconductors – materials that can vary the flow of electrical signals around circuits, therefore enabling modern electronics. The pandemic has greatly impacted manufacturing, logistics, and distribution operations worldwide. Staff sickness levels have increased, border restrictions have disrupted transport links, and manufacturing plants have reduced capacity.  At the same time, demand has skyrocketed. With many companies switching to work-from-home models and people increasingly spending more of their lives online in the digital domain, manufacturers have found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the demand for computers, tablets, smartphones, consoles, and many other devices."

While the chip shortage has been going on for over a year, recently, in a meeting with dealers in Las Vegas, Ford announced they would ship partially built vehicles to the dealers, and these will be both drivable and sellable, according to Automotive News. The missing parts will be sent to dealers for retrofitting within one year.   This news was not a giant surprise as we have heard rumors and seen photos of large amounts of trucks parked in lots around the United States.  

“We are working as hard as we can and offering ways for our customers to get their vehicles sooner during the global semiconductor shortage,”  Ford spokesperson Deep said.   

Ford has previously announced that some Ford F-150 pickup trucks and Edge crossovers will be built without specific electronic modules due to a twofold punch of a global semiconductor shortage and a lack of parts.  Ford also mentioned it had given customers the option to order their F-150s without auto start/stop.

“We will soon offer customers a way to get their Explorer more quickly, too, thanks to a specification change that will keep rear seat heating/air conditioning auxiliary controls upfront with the driver," Ford told Yahoo Finance. Buyers will be able to control the rear climate controls from the front seat console, and the company will restore rear-seat passenger control of heating/air conditioning at no cost later, Ford said. You may wonder how this helps or why the backseat, well, the size of the car and more room means fewer wires and pathways.  Removing some of the rear control features simplifies the number of chips needed without affecting the vehicle operation. 

Increasing efficiency and demand for vehicles is not a Ford-specific problem; GMC and other lead motor companies have begun to improvise.  What you can expect at J.C. Lewis is transparency in our communication for any vehicle that we receive affected by these changes, none thus far. If there is a modification in a vehicle you have selected, it is explained and agreed upon as a feature that can be delayed to proceed with your vehicle purchase. You can set up an appointment with our sales team and trust you are in good hands.  You can rest assured Ford Motor Company experts are at the forefront of the world's supply chain solutions and will give you the best options available.  At J.C. Lewis, we treat everyone in the Ford family the same, from Detroit to Savannah, and look forward to providing you with what you need. 

Contact J.C. Lewis Ford today at 912.226.0360.