General Motors Co said it was extending production cuts at three North American plants until at least mid-March due to the global semiconductor chip shortage, while vehicles at two other factories would only be partially built, Trend reports citing Reuters.
GM’s U.S. rival Ford Motor Co also said Tuesday that it was in limited cases parking partly assembled vehicles due to the chip shortage.
GM, whose shares dipped 1.1% after the announcement, did not disclose the impact on volumes or say which supplier and vehicle parts were affected by the chip shortage.
But it said it would focus on keeping production running at plants building its highest-profit vehicles: full-size pickup trucks and SUVs. GM said it intended to make up as much lost production as possible once the shortage chip eased.
GM vehicles affected by the idled plants include the Chevrolet Malibu sedan, Cadillac XT4 SUV, Chevy Equinox, and GMC Terrain SUVs. Vehicles to be left incomplete for now included the Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon pickups and Chevy Blazer SUV.