Microchips continue to wreak havoc on all makes of cars. Mercedes has managed to recompose its situation without equipment, the same strategy that Ford will follow. The statements of a senior brand official in the United States point to a reduction in these, although it will be something that customers will not miss.
The microchip crisis continues to wreak havoc among brands. Although the situation is being regularized, the desired availability of these components does not yet exist. Some manufacturers have opted for do without some equipment to allocate them to certain mechanical versionslike the PHEVs that were experiencing significant delays.
This is the most feasible solution that some brands have adopted, despite the fact that customers are somewhat affected, since desired equipment may or may not arrive or, directly, is not available. Ford in the United States has announced that the brand has decided to follow the same strategy as Mercedes, although not in such a radical way. Those in the blue oval are committed to the concept of product rationalization, as John Lawler, Ford’s chief financial officer, has pointed out.
Ford’s key to increasing production goes through the equipment
The director has pointed out that «We could reduce the number of consumer choices by 80% to 90% on many of our vehicles without sacrificing sales. That’s the key part. It’s too complex and it’s just been the mindset that’s been around in the industry for too long that you need complexity to really satisfy the consumer. Now, there’s a smarter way to do it.” And this is perhaps the question, how to do it.
The manufacturer will gather the most demanded equipment in packageswhich will mean a price reduction compared to the inclusion of optional items independently, which will also mean associating certain packages to specific mechanical versions, leaving only outside of this strategy the paint options for the bodywork. The Ford manager admits that the competition between brands is very tough, which makes him have a long list of options that, in addition, add more complexity in the production lines.
These two factors will ease assembly and manufacture and deliver units more quickly, although an additional option is also being considered, which is that of manufacture only the models with the most requested optional equipment and sold, so the basic versions would disappear. For now, this new strategy has already been implemented in the range sold in the United States, and in one example is the new Ford F-150. The question is whether it will also be transferred to other markets such as Europe, where everything will depend on improvements in the microchip crisis in the coming months.
Font: autoblog