OEMs strip cars to beat chip shortage

06 September 2021

Car manufacturers are cutting features on new cars to counter the global semiconductor shortage. Ford has introduced new ‘Design’ variants for the Puma Titanium and ST-Line. These are cheaper, but go without key safety features such as lane-keep assistance, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, rear parking sensors and post-collision braking. Ford calls it “realigning the content” to give shorter delivery times. Design models, however, are not eligible for the Puma’s five-star Euro NCAP award, due to the missing safety equipment: Ford makes this clear on its customer website.

Volvo is also scaling back the features in the Driver Awareness pack on the XC60, reports Autocar, but the missing features “do not have an impact on the safety rating,” said a spokesperson. Auto Retail Agenda understands this also applies to the blind spot monitoring on XC40. Retailers are contacting customers to see if they either want to wait or are happy to take delivery with the missing equipment.

Some retailers are also reporting car manufacturers are cancelling orders entirely.

What Car? research reveals the average wait for a new car is now four to six months – with JLR, as Auto Retail Agenda reported last month, quoting lead times of more than a year.

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