Ford’s European production has suffered even longer from the global shortage of microchips for the automotive industry. The brand is expected to suffer from it well into the second quarter. Focus production in Saarlouis, Germany, has been the hardest hit.
UPDATE (March 1): Ford Netherlands reports to Techzle that production of the Focus has now resumed. Production has been shut down for a total of five weeks and will therefore not be shut down for another five weeks. It is true that production volumes are still lower and Ford is expected to continue to suffer from the shortage of microchips.
In mid-January, Ford stopped production of the Focus in Saarlouis for a month. There are now another five weeks to add, says Stuart Rowley, director of Ford Europe Automotive News. The factory employs around 5,000 people. Rowley says the production shutdown has a major impact on business operations, but he does not specify how many cars are in Ford’s now lost production. In Saarlouis, Ford is most affected, followed by the factory in Valencia, where the Kuga, Mondeo and Galaxy are screwed together. However, production did not come to a complete standstill in the Spanish city.
In Cologne, where the Fiesta rolls off the production line, the impact of the microchip shortage has been relatively limited, Rowley said. Ford applies shortened working days at the factories in Valencia and Cologne. This also applies to the factory in Craiova, Romania, where Ford builds the Puma. The CEO expects the problems with the shortage of microchips to be resolved in the second quarter. Almost all car manufacturers seem to be suffering from the chip shortage. Only Hyundai and Kia currently have their affairs in order, as the Hyundai Motor Group purchased a large stock of microchips on time.