According to foreign media reports, Ford Motor told dealers at a meeting on March 12 that it would postpone distribution and reduce wholesale delivery before the end of May, but the company would continue to work hard to produce cars and fulfill customer orders.
Ford dealers said they did not expect to receive new inventory allocations until the end of May because of Ford's production cuts, while a Ford spokesman said the company would continue its efforts "to ensure retail and inventory".
Ford told dealers at the meeting that Ford had cut production by 100000 vehicles because 37 suppliers failed to provide parts as scheduled, according to three people attending the meeting. This problem aggravates the inventory dilemma faced by Ford dealers, so that most dealers have run out of inventory. Ford said it received orders for 90, 000 and 72000 new cars in January and February, respectively, suggesting it was still dragged down by a backlog of orders caused by reduced production. It is reported that Ford's u.s. sales fell 21% in February and 11% in the previous two months.
Ford executives predict that Ford's retail sales in the United States will be 1.66 million vehicles in 2022, with a market share of 13.3 percent, according to two people present at the meeting. Ford expects its total sales in the US to increase this year and its global wholesale sales to increase by 10 per cent and 15 per cent, a Ford spokesman said in a statement.
Chronic parts shortages, mainly chip shortages, forced Ford to suspend production at several North American plants this year, which make some of its most popular models, including F-series pickups, Bronco, explorer (Explorer), Ranger and Mustang Mach-E.
Andrew Frick, general manager of Ford Blue car sales, distribution and trucks, said after the meeting, "We are working to ensure production. Like everyone else, we are dealing with a large number of supply chain problems. We are solving these problems and we are confident that we can plan production and deliver as many new cars to dealers as possible. "
Carmakers and analysts expect supply bottlenecks in the industry to continue largely into the first half of 2022, with car inventories picking up slowly in the second half of the year, but shortages of some parts are likely to continue into 2023.
Honda repeatedly said in early February and March that supply chain problems were still preventing carmakers from improving their inventory.
