Semiconductors are in short supply due to the pandemic, amid the increase in purchases of computers for teleworking that it has generated. Now General Motors can’t get enough for the fuel management system of its light trucks.
US automaker General Motors Corporation announced Monday that it will build certain full-size light-duty pickup trucks without a fuel management module due to a global shortage of semiconductor chips.
In an email to the Reuters news agency, GM spokeswoman Michelle Malcho said the decision will slightly reduce fuel economy on the models affected by the decision, including the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra.
Malcho emphasized that all trucks are still being built, something GM has repeatedly emphasized that it would try to keep, as trucks are among GM’s most profitable models. She declined to say the volume of vehicles affected.
The change runs through the 2021 model year, which typically ends in late summer or early fall, she said.
Malcho said it would not have a major impact on the Detroit automaker’s corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) figures in the United States.
Other automakers around the world, including Ford and Nissan, have had to make production adjustments due to microchip shortages.
Industry watchers say the shortage has been fueled by the pandemic in a number of ways, including an increase in demand for consumer electronics, as more people work and study from home. Meanwhile, automakers, who were expecting lower sales, canceled chip orders last year, only to see a rebound in sales, surprising suppliers.
