Ford To Idle Production At Some Plants In Europe Due to Chip Shortage, Russia-Ukraine War

Ford Motor Co’s F vehicle production and orders have been hit in Europe due to the ongoing global semiconductor shortage and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported on Monday, citing the company.

What Happened: Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford will idle production at plants in Saarlouis and Cologne in Germany due to the chip crunch.

Production at a Volkswagen Group VWAGY plant in Poland that builds Ford's Tourneo Connect vehicle has been temporarily halted as well, according to the report.

Ford has also stopped taking new orders for the S-Max and Galaxy vehicles that are built in Valencia, Spain. 

It has also been forced to offer Focus buyers a smaller dashboard screen due to the Ukraine conflict, the report said.

See Also: Volkswagen To Shift More Production To China, North America As Russia-Ukraine War Roils Europe Supply Chain

Why It Matters: Automakers already grappling with a global semiconductor crisis are now facing fresh supply chain challenges due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Volkswagen has said it is shifting more production out of Europe to China, North America, and Latin America to cope with the situation. Its CEO earlier this month said Volkswagen would need to relocate production in three to four weeks, failing which it would need to revise its outlook.  

Rising raw material prices have also forced electric vehicle makers, including Tesla Inc TSLA, to raise prices.

Price Action: Ford stock closed 2.25% lower at $16.5 a share on Monday.

Photo courtesy: Ford