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GM extends vehicle production cuts into mid-March due to global chip shortage

DETROIT — General Motors said on Tuesday 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. GM, whose shares dipped 1% after the announcement, did not disclose the impact 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. "Semiconductor supply remains an issue that is facing the entire industry. GM's plan is to leverage every available semiconductor to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products," GM spokesman David Barnas said. GM said it was extending downtime at its U.S. plant in Fairfax, Kansas, its Canadian factory in Ingersoll, Ontario, and its Mexican facility in San Luis Petosi until mid-March when it would reassess the situation, he said. In addition, GM would build but leave incomplete for final assembly vehicles at Wentzville, Missouri, and its Mexican plant at Ramos Arizpe. 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. This week, GM had said it was idling the three factories where it has now extended downtime and said it would halve production at a plant in South Korea. The chip shortage has affected many automakers, including Toyota, Volkswagen, Stellantis, Ford, Renault, Subaru, Nissan, Honda and Mazda. Asian chipmakers are rushing to boost production but say the supply gap will take many months to plug. German chipmaker Infineon said the shortage would get worse in the near term. The chip shortage is expected to cut global output in the first quarter by more than 670,000 vehicles and last into the third quarter, IHS Markit said. AutoForecast Solutions estimated total lost production this year could reach 1 million vehicles. Honda and Nissan said on Tuesday they would sell 250,000 fewer cars in total this financial year due.

2021 Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra fuel economy to go down due to global chip shortage

Production of the 2021 Chevy Silverado and 2021 GMC Sierra is continuing, but the global semiconductor chip shortage is resulting in a mid-year change. Or rather, an omission.  Basically, the availability of cylinder deactivation for the 5.3-liter V8 will be significantly reduced, resulting in a reduction of 1 mpg combined for affected models. This applies whether that engine has the six- or eight-speed automatic, as well as to both the regular Active Fuel Management and the more advanced Dynamic Fuel Management cylinder deactivation systems. DFM does remain with the pairing of 5.3-liter V8 and 10-speed automatic that comes standard on the LT Trail Boss and High Country. "Due to the micro controller shortage, the components that control AFM/DFM in the engine control module (ECM) have been removed," GM spokesperson Michelle Malcho told Autoblog. She also indicated that the engines will still have the AFM/DFM hardware in place, but that GM will not allow activation of the systems in the future with an ECM change.  Malcho also confirmed to Autoblog that the Silverado and Sierra's other engines will continue to have AFM and DFM, including the 2.7-liter turbo inline-four, 4.3-liter V6 and 6.2-liter V8. In an earlier statement to Reuters, she declined to say the volume of vehicles affected. "By taking this measure, we are better able to meet the strong customer and dealer demand for our full-size trucks as the industry continues to rebound and strengthen," Malcho wrote Reuters in an email. The change runs through the 2021 model year, she said. Malcho told Reuters it would not have a major impact on the Detroit automaker's U.S. corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) numbers. "We routinely monitor our fleet for compliance in the U.S. and Canada, and we balance our portfolio in a way that enables us to manage unforeseeable circumstances like this without compromising our overall (greenhouse gas) and fuel economy compliance," she said. GM's fleetwide fuel economy in the 2018 model year was 22.5 miles per gallon and was projected to rise to 22.8 mpg for 2019, according to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency. To meet federal CAFE requirements, automakers like GM often use credits from either earlier years where they faced less stringent rules and performed better than the requirements or buy credits from other automakers. GM said last month the chip shortage could shave up to $2 billion from this year's earnings.

Hummer EV SUV overland camper teased from GMC and EarthCruiser

At the end of March this year, GMC announced a collaboration with EarthCruiser. The automaker's Hummer team would work with the Oregon overlanding company's research and design division to develop an upfit for EVs, initially integrated into the Hummer EV pickup. For those not familiar with EarthCruiser, they’ve made wild overlanding vehicles like the Terranova, FX and EXP, pretty rad and pretty expensive stuff. The preview back then was a shadowy render that looked much like the silhouette of the Hummer SUV thanks to the living quarters slid into the pickup bed. The most apparent changes were solar panels integrated into the roof, and a cargo bay on the side of the slide-in. The duo's just put a much better tease on Instagram revealing the campfire-lit outline of what this version of an overland Hummer will look like. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. EarthCruiser is known for its pop-up roofs. This looks like a choice execution here, with near 360-degree visibility and integrated LEDs. Also, dig what looks like a platform off the back of the rig. We're going to guess that's either a slide-out or the rear flap on the camper top locked into the raised position. The cargo boxes on the side look neat, we look forward to finding out how they work and what they store. We also wonder if they'll be optional and whether they extend beyond the wheel arches, making a really wide pickup truck even wider.  We're not sure it will be "every overlanderÂ’s dream," but we are sure some stargazers are going to have some very sweet dreams in it. Slated for debut this month, look for it at Overland Expo Mountain West in Colorado, the same place the GMC Canyon AT4X OverlandX made its public debut in 2021, and where in Arizona last year the GMC showed the Sierra's outdoor potential with an Ultimate Overland Vehicle built on the Sierra 1500 AT4X.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.