Lack of core: 14 factories, including Stellantis and Ford, stopped production this week.

According to foreign media reports, carmakers are increasingly dependent on electronic components, but face fierce competition in obtaining the supply of chips. As the epidemic spread, carmakers were hit by a series of supply chain disruptions. It is reported that last week, Stellantis stopped production at many factories in Europe, North America and other places, and many factories will continue to extend the shutdown time this week.

Stellantis was founded in January 2021 by the merger of Peugeot Citroen (PSA) and Fiat Chrysler (FCA). It owns Fiat, Maserati, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Peugeot (Peugeot), Citroen (Citroen), Opel (Opel), DS and other brands.

Stellantis's plan to stop production in Europe this week

On Aug. 30, Stellantis said it was extending the shutdown of its European plant because of a shortage of chips. This week, PSA's French Rennes (Rennes) plant, which mainly produces Peugeot and Citroen midsize cars, will continue to stop production.

Last week, PSA shut down production at its (Eisenach) plant in Eisenach in Germany, Rennes in France and (Sochaux) in Socho. The Eisenach plant mainly produces crossovers for Opel and compact cars at the Sochau plant. Another production line at the Socho plant will be suspended on Aug. 30, while the Eisenach plant will continue to stop production on the 30th and 31st, Stellantis said.

This week, Fiat's Italian SevelSud plant, which produces about 1200 trucks a day, will continue to shut down. SevelSud is the largest truck factory in Europe. The plant employs about 6500 people and makes light commercial trucks such as Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer and Citroen Jumper/Relay.

Earlier, the Stellantis Pomigliano plant in Italy had planned to open, but a shortage of chips forced the plant to remain shut down. Italian trade unions have previously said, "it is clear that supply shortages may affect more factories, such as the Merfi plant."

Stellantis's plan to stop production in North America this week

This week, Stellantis is also shutting down production at several factories in the United States and Canada. Production of Ram 1500 has been suspended at the Stirling Heights (Sterling Heights) assembly plant in Stirling Heights, Michigan. The Stirling Heights factory, which employs 7068 people, will be closed for a week on three shifts. In July, the plant was shut down because of the epidemic. The Belvidere assembly plant in Illinois, which assembles Jeep free light (Cherokee), will be shut down from August 30 to September 6.

Brampton (Brampton) assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, which assembles Dodge Challenger and Charger, and Chrysler 300s, has been shut down for a week due to lack of cores. Windsor assembly plant in Ontario, which makes Pacifica and Voyager minivans, will also suspend production this week.

"We will continue to work closely with suppliers to reduce production disruptions caused by various supply chain problems facing the automotive industry," Stellantis said on Aug. 30. Although the Windsor plant resumed two-shift operation on July 5th, Stellantis's production plan is still released on a weekly basis.

Scania, Volvo and Ford plan to stop production this week

Stellantis is not the only carmaker to cut production because of chip shortages.

Scania (Scania) is a Swedish truck brand owned by Traton, a subsidiary of Germany's Volkswagen Group. Scania said on the 30th that its truck factories in Europe (including Sweden, France and the Netherlands) would stop production this week due to a shortage of chips. Scania spokesman Karin Hallstan added that the company's South American plant will also suspend truck production next week.

Supply disruptions are currently affecting 70 per cent of Swedish manufacturing companies, according to a survey released by Silf and the Bank of Sweden on August 30th. Due to the shortage of spare parts, 16% of the companies have cut their production plans for the next six months.

Volvo, owned by Geely, also announced last week that it would stop production at its (Gothenburg) plant in Gothenburg, Sweden, this week, while Scania's rival Volvo truck Group said last month it would stop production temporarily.

Ford said last week that it would stop production this week at its (Kansas) assembly plant in Kansas City, Missouri, and its Oakville (Oakville) assembly plant in Ontario, Canada. Ford operated only one shift last week at the Dearborn (Dearborn) truck plant in Michigan. Kansas City and Dearborn factories in the United States mainly produce Fmai 150 pickup trucks. The Oakville plant mainly produces Ford sharp boundary and Lincoln Nautilus cross-border SUV.