• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: Ford Courts Ferrari
  • Hyundai Building New $5.5 Billion EV, Battery Manufacturing Complex Near Savannah
  • Tesla Chief Elon Musk and The Very Bad Week
  • Polestar 3 Set for October Debut
  • Faster, Lighter BMW M4 CSL Makes its Debut
  • Fabled Mercedes Sports Car Sells for Record $146M
  • Ford Recalling 39K Full-Size SUVs Due to Potential Fire Issue
  • Mercedes-Benz Abandons Its Entry-Level Ambitions
  • Push is on to Make Stealing a Catalytic Converter a Federal Crime
  • Toyota Marks 25th Anniversary of Sienna Minivan
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line 4Motion
    • A Week With: 2022 Kia Forte GT
    • First Drive: 2023 Genesis GV60
    • First Drive: 2022 Mercedes-Benz C 300
    • First Impression: 2023 Nissan Z
    • A Week With: 2022 Lexus LC 500 Convertible
    • A Week With: 2022 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Crew Cab
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning
    • First Drive(s): 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate and AT4X
    • A Week With: 2022 BMW i4 M50
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > GM Idles Bolt EV Plant for Lack of Chips — As Semiconductor Shortage Threatens Wave of Battery Car Launches

        GM Idles Bolt EV Plant for Lack of Chips — As Semiconductor Shortage Threatens Wave of Battery Car Launches

        As Nissan Ariya is delayed, Ford, GM and other manufacturers look for ways to keep new EV programs on track.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Aug. 23, 2021

        Operations at the General Motors assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan ground to a halt today and will remained idled until at least Aug. 30.

        Orion worker assembles 2022 Bolt
        GM is temporarily shutting down its Orion assembly plant where it produces the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV.

        While GM is taking downtime at a number of plants, including the truck plants in Michigan, Tennessee and Mexico, the temporary closure in Orion Township is notable — and worrisome, according to industry observers. The factory produces GM’s two battery-electric vehicles, the Bolt EV and EUV. It’s the first time the facility has been shutdown since the semiconductor shortage began.

        Virtually every automaker has been impacted by the chip crisis … and few models have escaped without production cuts. But analysts note battery-electric vehicles could be particularly vulnerable going forward. And the issue could not only cause shortages of existing products but also delay the launch of the many new models scheduled to come to market in the next 12 months.

        That includes eagerly awaited battery-electric vehicles such as the GMC Hummer and Ford F-150 Lightning pickups, the Nissan Ariya SUV and the Lucid Air sedan, among others.

        Computers on wheels

        Today’s cars, trucks and crossovers are computers on wheels. The typical gas-powered model can use as many as 100 microprocessors — or more — to operate everything from their powertrain controls to their infotainment and digital safety systems. But, by their very nature, battery-electric vehicles need even more chips, according to Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst for Guidehouse Insights.

        2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum
        The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning EV should hit showrooms in late spring 2022, but if the chip issue some wonder if that could change.

        With BEVs, that number can run into the hundreds, many of those chips required to monitor the health of the cells that make up a battery pack. Major chipmakers such as Cree, ADI and NXP were forecasting double-digit annual growth in demand for chips used in EVs in the decade ahead.

        But automakers aren’t the only ones demanding more semiconductors. Since the COVID pandemic struck there has been a surge in sales of smartphones, videoconferencing gear, videogame devices and other digital devices.

        Silicon chip suppliers were only too happy to provide consumer electronics manufacturers with what they needed because the auto industry slashed semiconductor orders when the pandemic struck. When the massive plunge in car sales didn’t last as long as predicted automakers tried to increase their orders, but they had to go to the back of the line and wait.

        Software tricks

        Tesla assembly line
        Tesla has managed to avoid major shutdowns of its plants due to the chip shortage, but the company’s best efforts couldn’t avoid it forever.

        Tesla, the largest of the EV manufacturers, has been using software tricks to try to minimize the impact of the semiconductor shortage. It also cut back on production of its Powerwall battery backup system, diverting some of the chips they needed to its car plants in the U.S. and China. But the crisis has caught up with the company.

        Several reports this past week indicate Tesla is pushing back delivery dates on a number of its automotive models, apparently due to chip shortages. The automaker — which no longer employs a public relations department — did not respond to a request for comment, but it did note delivery delays on its website.

        “The chip shortage issue isn’t moderating to the extent that the Tesla bulls had hoped,” said Dan Ives, tech analyst with Wedbush Securities and one of the analysts with a bullish forecast on Tesla shares. He told CNN the delivery estimates have all been pushed back during the course of the last week.

        The number of battery-electric vehicles now in production is relatively low, but has grown substantially during the last 12 months with the addition of BEVs like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Volkswagen ID.4. That’s only expected to accelerate through the 2022 model year as vehicles such as the GMC Hummer pickup, Cadillac Lyriq, Lucid Air, Ford F-150 Lightning and other models are scheduled to come to market.

        More new programs, more potential delays

        2021 Nissan Ariya
        The Nissan Ariya was already supposed to be on the road in the U.S., but has been delayed with winter being its earliest arrival time.

        But observers worry that such programs will come off as planned. Nissan in June announced that its second all-electric model, the Ariya SUV, would be delayed. It was supposed to reach showrooms right around now but will be launched no earlier than winter, according to the Japanese automaker.

        Nissan has been especially hard hit by the chip shortage and has idled its massive assembly complex in Smyrna, Tennessee through the end of this month.

        Ford has likely been hammered the most by the crisis, so far this year losing production of more than 350,000 vehicles, including over 100,000 of its conventionally powered F-Series pickups. When asked this week whether chip shortages could delay the launch of the F-150 Lightning, a senior Ford official said on background the automaker is proceeding as planned.

        The electric pickup isn’t scheduled to reach showrooms until June 2022. By then, TheDetroitBureau.com was told, Ford hopes the chip shortage will be resolved. If not, several insiders said, the Lightning could face delays, like so many other vehicles set to debut in the coming year.

        As for the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV models, this week’s plant closure may not be as bad a deal as it sounds. The automaker last week announced it was recalling every one of the two models built so far to address potential battery fires. It may use the downtime to address manufacturing glitches with the battery packs used by the two Bolt models.

        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: Ford Courts Ferrari

        Yesterday
        Hyundai Savannah logo

        Hyundai Building New $5.5 Billion EV, Battery Manufacturing Complex Near Savannah

        May 20, 2022
        Musk speaks at Plaid debut

        Tesla Chief Elon Musk and The Very Bad Week

        May 20, 2022

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: