chip

Why the heck is there still a chip shortage for cars?

By Betty C. Morrow 5 months ago

Aside from the devastating human toll, COVID-19 has dramatically changed how we live, from travel and education to the way people work. This pandemic has also had an outsized — and unfortunate — impact on the automotive industry, snarling supply chains around the world and severely hampering vehicle production. But perhaps nothing has kneecapped car companies more than the ongoing semiconductor shortage, which is still a huge problem two years after the coronavirus went global.

For myriad important reasons, “The chip shortage is still very much a problem,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. “This is not a quickly solvable issue.”

Automakers large and small are still being affected by an acute lack of semiconductors, tiny components that are absolutely necessary, even in the most basic cars and trucks. Everything from advanced driver-assistance features to infotainment systems to heated steering wheels are powered

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New Car Sales in 2022 Will See Bigger Rebound as Chip Supply Improves, Analyst Says

By Betty C. Morrow 6 months ago

After a shortage in computer chips contributed to a shortage in new cars in 2021, analysts expect an improvement in chip supplies in 2022 to help new car sales rebound. An average gas-powered vehicle has about 1,000 computer chips, while electric-powered cars can have more than double that total, leaving the market with low car supply and high prices without sufficient stock.

Phil Amsrud, an IHS Markit analyst who follows automotive chips, predicted that supplies wouldn’t get better immediately in 2022 and would likely be better in the second half of the year.

“We’re seeing 2022 as being an improvement over 2021, but it’s not going to start January third or fourth,” he said.

Still, experts and analysts are unsure when chip supplies will reach levels from before the pandemic.

Cox Automotive predicted that new car sales in the U.S. will increase this year by more than one million to

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McLaren Artura launch delayed due to chip shortage

By Betty C. Morrow 6 months ago

See you next year — hopefully.


McLaren

Deliveries of McLaren’s new Artura supercar will be delayed, a company spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Originally reported by Automotive News, the Artura was expected to hit the road by the end of this year but will now arrive in July 2022.

The reason won’t come as a surprise. “We’ve had to delay the delivery of customer cars until July because of the ongoing semiconductor shortage that all OEMs are struggling with,” a McLaren spokesperson told Roadshow.

The Artura marks a new chapter for McLaren. It’s the first car to ride on McLaren’s new lightweight vehicle architecture and the company’s first series-production hybrid following the limited-run P1 and Speedtail. Power comes from a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 and 7.4-kilowatt-hour battery pack, producing a total of 670 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque. All told, the Artura is said to weigh just 3,303 pounds.

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Carmakers to hike prices again in January amid chip shortage, rising inflation

By Betty C. Morrow 7 months ago






Several automakers in the country are planning to hike prices of vehicles from January 2022 in the wake of the ongoing chip shortage that has led to slow production despite high demand.

For over a year, automotive companies operating in India have been suffering losses due to supply disruptions and the semiconductor crisis. While the chip shortage situation has improved, most carmakers have a huge backlog due to higher demand and lower production.

In such a scenario, top vehicle manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India said on Thursday that it plans to hike prices of its models from next month to offset increased production costs. Several other car manufacturers like Tata Motors and Hyundai Motor India are also expected to hike prices to make up for losses due to higher input costs.

Read | Buying a car won’t be a cheap affair this festive season. Here’s why

A spokesperson for Tata

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