The global microchip shortage is preventing one version of the popular Ram 1500 pickup from being shipped to dealers.
The truck, known as the Ram 1500 Classic, is built at Stellantis' Warren (Mich.) Truck Assembly and at a plant in Mexico.
Stellantis, known as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles before its merger this year with Peugeot-maker PSA Group, is holding unfinished trucks at the plants until parts become available. The Classic is the older version of the 1500. The newer version is built at Sterling Heights (Mich.) Assembly Plant.
“We continue working closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry. Due to the unprecedented global microchip shortage, we are currently building and holding Ram 1500 Classics built at Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michigan and Saltillo Truck Assembly Plant in Mexico," according to a statement provided by company spokeswoman Kaileen Connelly
It's not clear how many trucks are being held or when the parts became unavailable. The chip shortage has affected production across the auto industry, and Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has described the issue as "a very big hit to our business plan."
Representatives for both the company and the UAW have both been asked if the issue has affected worker shifts.
It's not clear how long the issue, which was reported over the weekend by Bloomberg, might last. The company said only that it would finish building the trucks when the parts are available again.
"When the component that requires the chip becomes available, we will complete the build, then perform extensive quality verifications before shipping finished trucks to dealers,” according to the company statement.
Any specific impact on sales is likely to remain unclear. The company does not provide a breakdown of its truck sales, lumping its Ram pickups together in its quarterly and yearly numbers. For the coronavirus-affected sales year of 2020, Stellantis reported that it sold almost 564,000 Ram pickups, which was a decline of 11% from 2019.
